Election 2016: Labor swing but Turnbull set to remain PM
AUSTRALIANS might know not for a month the make-up of the new parliament.And a second poll to resolve Saturday’s inconclusive result is not out of the question.
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AUSTRALIANS might know not for a month the make-up of the new parliament.
And a second poll to resolve Saturday’s inconclusive result is not out of the question.
Australian Electoral Commission spokesman Phil Diak said more than 11 million ballots for the House of Representatives had been counted already.
But it could take up to a month for the rest to be tallied.
And today Mr Turnbull said he was expecting a result towards the end of the week.
While he flagged having to possibly work with the crossbenchers in the future, Mr Turnbull today told journalists he was quietly confident” he can attain a coalition majority in parliament.
“In those circumstances, or indeed in any circumstances, we always seek to work constructively with all of the members of the parliament,” he said.
“We will dedicate our efforts to ensuring that the state of new parliament is resolved without division or rancour.”
He said he expects there may be recounts in close seats, and pre-poll and postal votes would determine as many as 12 undecided seats
As it stands now, the coalition appears to have 72 of the 150 lower house seats, Labor 67, the Greens 1 and independents 4. Another six seats are in doubt.
The coalition leads in two — Dunkley (VIC) and Gilmore (NSW) — while Labor has the lead in Chisholm (VIC), Forde, Herbert (QLD) and Hindmarsh (SA).
The AEC will count votes from mobile centres today that are unlikely to have any impact on the overall count.
More than one million postal votes have been returned to the commission so far and more can be accepted if they are received by Friday week.
The Senate count could take up to five weeks
“I believe we’ll be able to form a majority government,” Treasurer Scott Morrison said.
However his cabinet colleague George Brandis said a hung parliament was a “live possibility”.
Labor campaign spokeswoman Penny Wong said Malcolm Turnbull, who took over the Liberal leadership from Tony Abbott in September, was now “in enormous strife” within his own party.
“What has Malcolm delivered? He’s lost seats, he’s got a slogan not a plan and it looks like we have Pauline Hanson in the parliament,” she said.
Ms Hanson, the One Nation founder, will take a seat in the Senate and could bring her Queensland running mate with her, joining a crossbench of up to 12 members.
Labor frontbencher Kim Carr said he expected there would be a hung parliament and Bill Shorten, a former union boss, would be best suited to negotiate a minority government.
“We are likely to see now substantive discussions about the future direction,” Senator Carr said.
Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said a hung parliament was “hypothetical” and he did not believe the Australian people wanted to continue the “revolving door of prime ministers”.
Mr Morrison said it was “highly unlikely” Mr Abbott would have taken the government to victory and he remained supportive of Mr Turnbull.
The Greens were on track to hold Melbourne and could pick up the Labor seat of Batman.
Independent Bob Katter will hold his seat of Kennedy, with the Nick Xenophon Team’s Rebekha Sharkie set to join him on the crossbench alongside Andrew Wilkie (Denison) and Cathy McGowan (Indi).
Senator Xenophon said unemployment was a major problem in his home state.
“It’s not rocket science — people are worried about their jobs, they are worried about the impact of trade agreements,” he told the Nine Network.
Mr Joyce held his NSW seat of New England against a challenge by former member Tony Windsor, while Mr Windsor’s former crossbench colleague Rob Oakeshott is likely to fall short in Cowper
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LINDSAY
Labor candidate Emma Husar has claimed the crucial western Sydney seat of Lindsay from the Liberals Fiona Scott.
We now have enough information to say that Lindsay is now Labor once again,” she told Seven.
Both parties considered the seat in Sydney’s western suburbs as crucial to victory, with Labor choosing to launch its campaign in Penrith.
Ms Scott held the seat with a margin of three per cent
REID
Liberal MP Craig Laundy has claimed victory in the highly contested Sydney seat of Reid.
Both Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten campaigned several times in the marginal inner-western seat.
“At the 2013 election, I became the first Liberal member for Reid and I’m so amazingly proud tonight to say I remain the federal member for Reid,” he told supporters.
He said he had a swing towards him of six per cent in Lidcombe alone.
“I am sick of being told western Sydney is Labor heartland,” he said.
“Multicultural western Sydney are some of the most amazing aspirational people I have met in my life ... they are traditional Liberal voters — they just haven’t had a member that has explained it to them.”
PARRAMATTA
LABOR will retain the seat of Parramatta with Ms Owens finally declaring victory and kicking off celebrations with her Labor volunteers.
Ms Owens now has 58 per cent of the two-party preferred vote to Liberal Michael Beckwith’s 42 per cent, with a swing greater than 5 per cent expected, with about 64 per cent of the votes counted.
The seat of Parramatta has now been in Ms Owens’ hands for the past 12 years and it appears the seat will no longer be a marginal seat with 67 per cent of the vote in.
Ms Owens told The Advertiser she had accepted she had won.
“I am happy to claim victory. We’ve still got postal and pre polling votes that need to be counted but I am confident now. I’m just tired,” she said.
“I want to say to the voters, thank you for the opportunity. It really is a privilege to represent Parramatta.”
PAGE
For the past three decades, Page has been a bellwether seat, going with the government of the day. The trend looked set to continue, with The Nationals’ incumbent Kevin Hogan pulling just ahead of Janell Saffin.
Today, with almost 90 per cent of the vote counted, the Nationals have suffered a 1 per cent swing away but have retained 52.1 per cent of the vote after preferences.
Coal Seam Gas has been a hot trigger issue in the electorate and the Nationals copped a huge backlash in the State Election with the Greens making huge gains, winning Ballina off the Nationals and coming close to outing the Nationals member for Lismore Thomas George
BARTON
Labor’s Linda Burney is packing her bags for Canberra after declaring she’s won the south Sydney seat of Barton.
“Barton has created history tonight in Australia by electing the first indigenous woman to the House of Representatives,” the former NSW deputy Labor leader told Sky News.
The seat was won by the coalition’s Nick Varvaris in the 2013 election but became a notional Labor seat after a redrawing of electoral boundaries.
Counting from 13 booths showed a four per cent swing to Ms Burney.
“Wonderful, wonderful,” Ms Burney told Sky News, as projections showed she was in position to take Barton with more than 10 per cent of the vote counted.
WARRINGAH
Tony Abbott took to the stage at Manly Lifesaving Club to declare victory to the chants of “Tony, Tony, Tony!”
In his victory speech Abbott admitted the campaign had been tough.
“Everyone bar one was an anti-Abbott candidates and when you’ve got eight people who are doing their best to drag you down, it’s not surprising that you lose a few votes here and a few votes there,” he said.
“Nevertheless what we can say very confidently that Warringah is still a very strong Liberal seat and your local member is looking forward to another three good strong years representing the people of the best part of the best city in the best country on earth
EDEN-MONARO
Labor has claimed the nation’s ultimate bellwether seat of Eden-Monaro.
Senior Labor figure Richard Marles told Sky News the seat had been won by Labor’s Mike Kelly.
If the coalition wins the election it will be the first time Eden-Monaro was not held by the government since 1972
MACARTHUR
Macarthur, one of the Liberal Party’s most vulnerable seats, fell to the Labor Party.
Labor candidate Michael Freelander secured a swing of more than 3.3 per cent against sitting Liberal MP Russell Matheson.
In the neck-and-neck race, Dr Freelander was attempting to become the first Labor MP for Macarthur in 20 years.
Traditionally a safe Liberal seat, Macarthur became marginal following this year’s decision by the AEC to move the boundary away from Camden and further into Campbelltown.
The move slashed the Liberal margin from its original 11.4 per cent.
Mr Matheson won the seat in 2010 after a 23 year career in the NSW police and 17 years on Campbelltown Council, including five years as the independent mayor.
Dr Freelander’s three decades as a paediatrician at Campbelltown Hospital made health funding and cuts to Medicare major components of his campaign
NEW ENGLAND
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has retained his seat of New England, fighting off a strong challenge from Tony Windsor.
Mr Joyce was sitting on a primary vote of 51.23 per cent with more than half of the vote counted.
He beat the former independent MP for the tightly contested northern NSW seat after a bitterly fought campaign.
Earlier, Mr Joyce was confident he would win saying the sentiment towards him was strong in pre-poll booths around the electorate.
“In the seat of New England the bookies are right — the Nationals will hold,” he told reporters.
Mr Joyce is due to make a victory speech shortly.
Mr Windsor isn’t conceding defeat just yet but admits it’s unlikely he will win
MAYO
Former federal government minister Jamie Briggs has conceded defeat in his previously safe seat of Mayo.
“Unfortunately that seat has been lost,” Liberal Party Victorian president Michael Carder told Sky News.
With about 12 per cent of the vote counted, Xenophon party candidate Rebekah Sharkey was being given about 55 per cent, on a two-party preferred basis, in the Adelaide Hills electorate.
The first preference vote for Mr Briggs was down by 15 per cent in a seat he holds with a 12 per cent margin.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon said he was encouraged by the early figures but maintained the result would be close.
The slide in the vote for Mr Briggs was partly because of his fall from grace when he was forced to quit as a federal minister late last year after allegations of misconduct towards a public servant in Hong Kong.
MACARTHUR
Macarthur, one of the Liberal Party’s most vulnerable seats, fell to the Labor Party.
Labor candidate Michael Freelander secured a swing of more than 3.3 per cent against sitting Liberal MP Russell Matheson.
In the neck-and-neck race, Dr Freelander was attempting to become the first Labor MP for Macarthur in 20 years.
Traditionally a safe Liberal seat, Macarthur became marginal following this year’s decision by the AEC to move the boundary away from Camden and further into Campbelltown.
The move slashed the Liberal margin from its original 11.4 per cent.
Mr Matheson won the seat in 2010 after a 23 year career in the NSW police and 17 years on Campbelltown Council, including five years as the independent mayor.
Dr Freelander’s three decades as a paediatrician at Campbelltown Hospital made health funding and cuts to Medicare major components of his campaign
MACKELLAR
BRONWYN Bishop’s heir apparent Jason Falinski has been swept into power in her former blue-ribbon seat of Mackellar on the northern beaches.
The Liberal Party’s Falinski carried the day with 65.9 per cent of the vote on a two-party-preferred basis.
In the 2013 election, Ms Bishop retained her seat with a convincing 18 per cent margin.
Mr Falinski ousted Ms Bishop in the Liberal Party’s local preselection contest in April after the former Speaker was embroiled in the Choppergate scandal having spent taxpayer funds chartering helicopters for her private use.
Earlier on Saturday Mr Falinski said taking over from Ms Bishop was tough.
“She was in public life for three decades, she was well known,” he said. “But at the same time a lot have said it has been good to have a fresh perspective.”
While voting was underway, he told those waiting at Mona Vale Memorial Hall: “You’ll get someone who will work as hard as Ms Bishop did every day of his life to represent the people of Mackellar.
“People come up and say that, like me, they want to see this community flourish, see Australia flourish.”
WERRIWA
By Brenden Hills
GOUGH Whitlam was resting easy in his grave last night with Labor claiming victory in the battle for the his seat of Werriwa.
With almost 65 per cent of the vote counted, ALP candidate Anne Stanley was ahead in the vote 57 per cent to 43 per cent over Liberal challenger Ned Mannoun.
Mr Mannoun, the mayor of Liverpool, was trying to wrest the seat away from Labor for the first time in 82 years.
Labor came into the election holding the Western Sydney seat on a 6.5 per cent margin and at 8.30pm last night Ms Stanley had increased the margin by 1.1 per cent, according to the ABC.
On first preference votes, Ms Stanley picked up 52 per cent of the vote to Mr Mannoun’s 37 per cent.
Ms Stanley, who is trying to become the first woman elected to the seat, said she was claiming victory.
“This is a very pleasing result,” Ms Stanley said “I’m honoured and humbled to represent in parliament the seat held by Gough Whitlam.”
Mr Manoun said he was still hopeful and would not declare his position until more polling booths had been returned.
“We want to see pre-poll votes, we want to see all the results before we comment,” Mr Mannoun said.
DOBELL
LABOR has won back its traditional heartland on the Central Coast, with Emma McBride declaring victory in the seat of Dobell tonight, dedicating her win to her father former state government minister Grant McBride.
With just 55 per cent of the vote counted, Ms McBride claimed victory with a salute to her father who was a former long-time Member for The Entrance.
A jubilant Ms McBride was cheered into the Bay Room at The Entrance Leagues Club a short while ago.
“I want to thank my nanna Elaine. Without her, I wouldn’t be a member of the Labor Party,’’ Ms McBride said.
“And to my wonderful dad who I love so much. I owe him this. My dad has been retired from politics but he has come back with a vengeance.’’
GREENWAY
Sitting Labor MP Michelle Rowland looks set for a thumping victory in the western Sydney seat of Greenway last night.
With 84 per cent of the vote counted, Ms Rowland was benefiting from a 3.5 per cent swing to Labor and had polled almost 60 per cent of the two party preferred vote.
Liberal candidate Yvonne Keane had hoped to take the seat after Labor’s margin fell to three per cent at the 2013 election.
The 44-year-old Rowland was born and raised in the area like Ms Keane, a former television host, who also grew up around Toongabbie. Ms Keane’s highly visible campaign provided a stark contrast to the party’s controversial previous candidate Jaymes Diaz who went to ground after a disastrous TV interview.
Jobs, health, the NBN rollout, and manufacturing were among the major issues which featured during the campaign.
THE NUMBERS
STATE SWINGS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT NSW 5.2pc Victoria 1.5pc Queensland 2.8pc Tasmania 5.2pc
LABOR ON TRACK TO PICK UP COALITION SEATS Bass, Flynn, Braddon, Lyons (TAS); Eden-Monaro, Macarthur (NSW); Solomon (NT); Burt (WA).
NICK XENOPHON TEAM PICKS UP Mayo (SA) from the Coalition.
TIGHT CONTESTS: Batman, Chisholm (VIC), Forde, Petrie, Capricornia, Dickson, Griffith, Bonner, Longman, Herbert (QLD); Banks, Robertson, Macquarie, Gilmore, Richmond, Corangamite, Dunkley, La Trobe, Melbourne Ports (VIC); Hindmarsh, Boothby (SA); Cowan (WA).
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