Rolling coverage of Federal Election 2022: Hinkler votes

While the seat of Hinkler is seen as a likely LNP win, Keith Pitt has revealed why he’s not making a victory speech just yet. ROLLING COVERAGE.

LNP incumbent Keith Pitt isn’t counting his chickens just yet.

Mr Pitt released a statement on Sunday afternoon declaring the Australian Electoral Commission had made an “incorrect count” in Hinkler over their inclusion of independent Jack Dempsey in the two-party preferred model.

“Unfortunately, the AEC did the incorrect count overnight,” he said.

“This means votes are still being counted and postal votes will continue to come in so there won't be an official result for some time, however the support has been positive.”

The AEC gives a two-party preferred count in order to give as early an indication as possible as to who will win the election, tallying preferences for the two candidates predicted to make it to the top.

While the system is standard, sometimes the guess, often made by researching history and even media reports, will be wrong, prompting a recount with the actual top two candidates.

While the system mostly works on major parties being in the top two, there are times when independents or candidates from minor parties are thrown in the mix.

In this case, the AEC calculated that Cr Dempsey would receive more votes than Labor’s Jason Scanes, however, Mr Scanes scored more votes than Mr Dempsey.

As of Sunday afternoon, Mr Pitt still held a comfortable majority of first preference votes in Hinkler.

Mr Pitt said it had been a huge mission to achieve the amount of votes and he was grateful to everyone who had offered support.

“Thank you to the many supporters, volunteers and my staff who have put in an amazing effort throughout this campaign,” he said.

“It has been a massive team effort.

“There were long hours on pre-poll and the conditions yesterday were especially trying and still people turned up to show their support and people came out to have their say.

“A final thank you to my family — my wife, kids, Mum and Dad — for your love and support throughout.”

Because the two-candidate-preferred vote is the result after preferences have been distributed, the current election results for Hinkler will show first preferences only and be updated in coming days.

Dempsey looking at the positives after loss

Bundaberg Mayor Jack Dempsey has remained positive despite losing the federal election on Saturday night.

The independent candidate for Hinkler told the Bundaberg NewsMail he had to stand up for “what you believe in”.

“I stood for election because I was unhappy with the government on issues including flood mitigation, the cashless debit card, climate change, housing affordability and the Hinkler regional deal,” he said.

“I could have been a commentator or observer instead of being a participant, but felt it was important to put myself forward and advocate for what I believed in.”

The latest count at midday on Sunday showed incumbent LNP candidate Keith Pitt was set to retain his seat but experienced a 6.4 per cent swing to Labor with about 71 per cent of votes counted.

Mr Dempsey reached 13.3 per cent of the votes according to the figures.

He said it took courage to run and applauded those who gave it a go.

“There are lots of keyboard warriors but only six people were brave enough to nominate for election in Hinkler. I congratulate Keith Pitt on being returned and thank all the other candidates for making it a genuine contest,” he said.

“I also congratulate Anthony Albanese for winning the national election.

“I welcome the commitments that Labor made to increase investment in flood mitigation, act on climate change and scrap the cashless card.”

Nationally, treasurer Josh Frydenberg is clinging to hope for an unlikely win in his seat while Labor leader Albanese is preparing for office.

Mr Dempsey said as mayor he would continue to work with the Albanese Government to ensure the implementation of those “promises and the repair of Paradise Dam”.

“My goal in contesting the election was to make Hinkler matter and that goal has been achieved,” he said.

“I’d like to thank all my volunteers for being passionate about wanting positive change and for putting themselves forward in all sorts of conditions.

“I’m humbled to have polled nearly 11,000 votes (before postals are counted) from a standing start. An extra 2000 votes and I would have been in serious contention.”

Bundaberg Mayor Jack Dempsey with one of his volunteers on polling day.

Mr Dempsey said democracy was a precious gift and he would return to his duties as mayor.

He congratulated Whitsunday mayor Andrew Wilcox who took home the seat of Dawson for the LNP despite a swing against the party.

“I’ll have more to say in the next few weeks about my priorities for the years ahead,” he said.

A sea of independents swooped on established seats on polling day, with LNP seats of Mackellar, North Sydney, Wentworth, Kooyong, Warringah, Goldstein and Curtin all likely to lose to the “teal”.

Mr Dempsey said he was not concerned about the general feeling about him as mayor in the wake of the result.

“This was a national election and people cast their vote on national issues,” he said.

“There was a swing against the sitting member who will now be on the opposition benches with limited opportunity to influence national policy.”

Former Labor Hinkler MP Brian Courtice. Photo: John Wilson

The most recent count on Sunday morning, Mr Pitt had 41 per cent of the vote in Hinkler, with Labor’s Jason Scanes on 23.81 per cent.

Mr Dempsey sat on 13.34 per cent, with One Nation’s Zak Menhennett on 8.74 per cent, UAP’s Kristie Nash on 7.73 per cent and Greens candidate Andrew McLean on 5.4 per cent.

Former Labor member for Hinkler Brian Courtice weighed in on the election outcome, saying Australian politics had “fractured and changed”.

Albanese won government with less votes than Gough Whitlam lost on in 1975, a sobering indicator of the new, divisive nature of Australian politics in 2022.

Mr Courtice highlighted regional LNP members’ support of coal in the party’s stunning federal defeat.

He said members such as Pitt, deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and LNP senator Matt Canavan, who support coal, had forgotten that their views could affect seats outside of the regions.

“There’s been a massive shift to the left and the Greens,” Mr Courtice said.

With an independent likely to take down Josh Frydenberg, Mr Courtice said if Peter Dutton was to become the new opposition leader, he would need a strong woman as deputy.

Mr Courtice said the country was largely divided into four categories with 20 per cent of voters somewhere on the right, 20 per cent somewhere on the left and 30 per cent each supporting Labor and the LNP.

He said a lot of people coming through polling booths in Bundaberg said they would not vote for Jack Dempsey because they didn’t want to lose him as mayor.

Bundaberg Mayor Jack Dempsey has remained optimistic about his performance.

Meanwhile, One Nation candidate Zak Menhennett said that while voting had not officially concluded, he was fairly sure this wouldn’t be his time.

“I will be jumping off social media for a week and spending time working on my business and catching up with friends and family,” he said on social media.

Election day

While incumbent LNP member Keith Pitt is likely to hold onto the federal seat of Hinkler, he was coy on Saturday night with his media spokeswoman saying it was too early to comment.

Mr Pitt has so far received 40 per cent of the primary vote, ahead of Jason Scanes at 24 per cent.

Independent candidate and Bundaberg Mayor Jack Dempsey has been unable to roll the Resources and Water Minister, scraping in with 13 per cent after One Nation Candidate Zak Menhennett held third place earlier in the night.

Mr Menhennet now sits behind Mr Dempsey with eight per cent of the vote.

Kristie Nash of the United Australia Party has so far received seven per cent of the vote, while the Greens received just over five per cent of the vote.

Meanwhile, incumbent LNP Minister Llew O’Brien has been able to retain the federal seat for Wide Bay.

Earlier, a Bundaberg man’s disappointment at a lack of democracy sausages at any local polling booths summed up the mood across the region as heavy rain soaked Bundaberg and Hervey Bay throughout election day.

Tim Fitzpatrick, 37, from Avoca said he had visited polling booths at Avoca State School, Bundaberg CBD and Branyan Road State School hoping to snag a … snag but didn’t have any luck.

“I only came out to vote to get a free snag, but there’s no snag in sight,” Mr Crawford said.

“It’s criminal.”

Scores of voters were still lining up at the Maryborough Street polling booth after 3pm.

Mr Crawford was one of many residents across the Hinkler electorate forced to vote in less than ideal conditions including the cooler temperatures, rain and wind without the reward of a freshly barbecued snag.

“It’s pretty cool today, would have been nice to have,” he said.

While the wet weather didn’t stop voters from queuing, it did create some issues.

Volunteers at some of the booths were forced to create makeshift signs to warn people of safety hazards.

One volunteer at Branyan Road State School in Bundaberg said while lines remained steady throughout the day, that wasn’t the case for the Avoca booth.

“I know people were coming over to us here from Avoca because our area is undercover, so people didn’t have to get wet while they were waiting,” she said.

“They were queuing out in the rain.”

Meanwhile, the Fraser Coast’s mayor has never shied away from his allegiance to the Labor Party but his escalated public support of a local candidate peaked today with hours spent promoting the party’s Hinkler hopeful.

Alongside volunteers of all colours, George Seymour handed out how-to-vote cards for Labor candidate Jason Scanes at Hervey Bay’s PCYC polling booth.

The volunteers agreed there was a sense of camaraderie among them as the rain continued to fall across the region as voters turned out to have their say.

Mr Seymour had shared a number of posts in support of Mr Scanes in the lead up to the election, saying the Labor candidate had “impressed him” because he wanted to go out and meet with individuals and groups to discuss working together for the good of the community.

At the time, Mr Scanes said he had “absolute respect” for Mr Seymour, who he said had work tirelessly during the flood events that hit the region.

Incumbent Keith Pitt told the Chronicle he would have no problem working with Mr Seymour if re-elected, no matter his political affiliation.

“Mayor Seymour has never hidden his political affiliations and it’s not my role to determine if it’s appropriate or not; that is up to the ratepayers who elected him as their representative,” he said.

While the Mayor’s decision to back Mr Scanes caused some controversy, others pointed out Councillor Denis Chapman, who ran for the LNP for the seat of Maryborough at the state election, had handed out how-to-vote cards for Wide Bay MP and LNP candidate Llew O’Brien at the pre-polling in Maryborough Pensioners Hall.

Fraser Coast councillor David Lee, a member of the LNP, was handing out for Mr Pitt at the Hervey Bay Baptist Church booth today.

Bundaberg’s mayor, (he officially stepped aside from the role for the duration of the campaign) Jack Dempsey, made sure to visit volunteers on the Fraser Coast before officially casting his vote at Thabeban in Bundaberg.

“It was good to escape the rain for a few minutes and get indoors to vote,” Mr Dempsey said.

“I’m feeling a lot of warmth from voters despite the cool weather.“

The Independent candidate said it had been a long campaign and he wanted to thank his volunteers who were out in the rain.

“Hinkler tops the nation for pre-poll and postal voting, which suggests there’s a mood for change,” he said.

“People are very concerned about the cost of living and housing affordability.

“They want all levels of government to be working together on behalf of the community.

“It’s been a robust campaign but there’s respect and goodwill between the candidates and volunteers.

“Whatever the final outcome, I hope that Hinkler becomes a marginal seat, which will put us on the radar of both major parties in the future.

“We all know that marginal seats get more love than safe seats.”

Bundaberg Mayor Jack Dempsey with one of his volunteers on polling day.

Earlier today, Mr Pitt cast his vote at 10am at Hervey Bay High School.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, he said he was appreciative of all the people had turned out in the rain to cast their vote.

“But this is democracy at work,” he said.

“It’s a great thing that our nation has this opportunity for people to have their say about who leads Australia.”

Mr Pitt said there was always feedback in his job and he had heard plenty during his weeks on the

campaign trail.

MORE COVERAGE: Hinkler votes: Everything you need to know for election day

He said ultimately, “you get who you vote for” and had one last try at the party’s line.

“It will either be a Greens Labor government under Anthony Albanese or the Coalition with a strong economic plan, one that looks after our national security and ensures that we are defended.”

If re-elected, Mr Pitt said he would continue to deliver on the commitments he had already made.

He said Covid had made for a challenging two years.

“It’s certainly helped make my hair grey,” he said.

“Fundamentally our nation has come through the pandemic in one of the best positions of any country in the world,” he said.

“That’s fundamentally due to the commitment of the Australian people, the work of the Coalition Government and the fact that we made the right decisions at the right time.

“I’m very proud of the Australian people and the people I represent here in Hinkler for the work that they’ve done during the pandemic.

“It’s been tough, it genuinely has, but now we see unemployment at 3.9 per cent, seen a $100 billion turn around in the budget, maintained our triple A credit rating and all of that would be put at risk under a Greens-Labor Government.”

Also at the polling booth at the school was former Hinkler One Nation candidate Damian Huxham.

He was handing out how-to-vote cards for the party’s 2022 candidate Zak Menhennett.

Holding a placard outside the school was Mick Lehtonen, who voted One Nation at this year’s election because of their policy of ending the Covid mandates.

Mr Lehtonen said his wife had lost her career of 15 years as a nurse because of the Covid mandates.

“She was one of those legendary nurses, extremely compassionate,” he said.

While he wasn’t campaigning for the party, Mr Lehtonen was holding a sign outside the voting booth at Hervey Bay High School, urging people to avoid voting for the major parties.

Holding a placard outside the school was Mick Lehtonen, who voted One Nation at this year’s election because of their policy of ending the Covid mandates.

Mr Lehtonen said his wife had witnessed vaccine injuries when the program was rolled out and wanted to wait to see the long term impacts before getting the jab.

But her stance had cost her a job she loved, he said.

Mr Lehtonen said One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was a brave and gutsy person who couldn’t be silenced, even after being sent to prison.

Labor candidate Jason Scanes began his day in “wet and cold” Bundaberg.

He had visited booths at Bundaberg North State School and Norville State School on Saturday morning.

In Hervey Bay, Labor state member Adrian Tantari was flying the flag at one of the city’s polling booths alongside other volunteers.