Election: Lengthy battle of Brisbane as Hanson likely to keep Senate seat

Labor and Greens candidates could be battling it out for the seat of Brisbane up until next week while Pauline Hanson’s chances of retaining her spot in the Senate looks more promising as counting progresses.

Labor still appears to be in with a fighting chance in the seat of Brisbane with the ALP candidate Madonna Jarrett by no means out of a race not expected to be finalised until next week.

Labor is still more than 600 votes ahead of the Greens Stephen Bates in a seat which was held by the LNP’s Trevor Evans, who has conceded.

Experts, including the ABC’s election analyst Antony Green, are still convinced the Greens will triumph in the end.

Candidate for Brisbane Madonna Jarrett. Picture: Liam Kidston

But the seat of Brisbane, with Labor on 24,508 first preference votes and the Greens on 23,880, will remain a focus of attention for the new Federal Labor Government which is still one seat short of forming a majority government at 75 seats.

Counting today is focused on absentee ballots but the final count is not expected to be finalised until mid way through next week at earliest.

The veteran Queensland Senator Pauline Hanson also looks increasingly likely to hold her place in the upper house despite a strong challenge for the state’s sixth Senate spot from Legalise Cannabis Australia.

Pauline Hanson could retain her seat in the upper house. Photo: Mark Cranitch.

Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers said that despite some anticipated staff shortages due to COVID-19, the AEC remains on track to return the writs to the Governor-General on or before 28 June 2022.

“Our motto for the count is ‘right, not rushed’,” Mr Rogers said.

“The count is progressing well and it is likely that the results in some seats will start to be declared from mid-next week.

“This can only occur once it becomes mathematically impossible for any other candidate to win.”

Mr Rogers said margins were so thin in a number of seats the AEC would need to wait until it had received and counted all allowable postal votes before distributing preferences and declaring a result.