A mob of Independents would quickly degenerate into total paralysis of the Parliament with all of them, having their own axes to grind, be totally incapable of agreeing on anything!
Except the hung parliament passed the most legislation of a parliament for years. I wouldn't worry about voting for someone other than the big 2. They are much more happy to compromise and actually craft an acceptable policy for all than ram through their ideological dreams (a criticism of both Liberal and Labor)
Can someone explain to me how it will have any effect on the opportunity for the average couple/family to buy a home if prices don't fall?
Labors changes will only apply to new housing, and there is varying stages of grandfather in the implementation. Basically it should avoid a crash in property prices (but let's be honest, we have a bubble that could crash at any moment anyway), allow people currently using negative gearing to reduce their income tax to continue to do so with their current investments, and hopefully reduce prices on new properties to assist new entrants to the property market.