Liberal/National Coalition = Mid-range Conservative, current government headed by Prime Minister John Howard, supports war in Iraq, war on terror. Supports US in most matters.
Labor = Moderate Socialist, currently headed by Opposition Leader Mark Latham, has pledged to bring Australian troops home from Iraq by Christmas. Anti-George Bush (described him as most dangerous man alive).
The above are the two groups that can form government.
Minor parties of some relevance:
Greens - environmentalist, hard left
Democrats - soft left, social democrats
Family First - conservative Christian party
Thanks for the clarification! Your recap was excellant & most informative. Thanks also for starting this thread!