Election 2016: Nation left hanging with poll results in the mail

DANIEL Andrews still hasn’t spoken to federal Labor leader Bill Shorten two days on from the election as the Premier is under fire over the CFA voter backlash.

Angry federal Labor figures have warned of potential “retribution” against Premier Daniel Andrews over his handling of the CFA dispute. Picture: Aaron Francis

• GALLERY: Quirky election snaps
• BOLT: Only Abbott can fix what Turnbull broke
• LEADERS SPEAK: Election night speeches

VICTORIAN Premier Daniel Andrews still hasn’t spoken to Labor leader Bill Shorten, two days on from the federal election.

Mr Andrews still maintains the controversial CFA pay deal hasn’t hurt the vote, despite Labor not picking up any new seats, while others are still too close to call.

But angry federal Labor figures have warned of potential “retribution” against Mr Andrews over his handling of the issue.

Some within Labor’s campaign team believe Opposition leader Bill Shorten would be declaring himself the new prime minister had it not been for Victorian anger over Mr Andrews’ support for the union takeover of the CFA.

Mr Andrews claimed Mr Shorten has been too busy since the election to speak to him.

“We’re playing phone tag, he’s got a lot of crossbenchers to talk to, I look forward to speaking to him probably later on today,” Mr Andrews said on ABC 774 Radio this morning.

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Despite criticism from federal Labor figures, Mr Andrews reiterated that swings to Labor in many CFA seats, including Broadford and Kilmore, proved the controversy didn’t hurt the vote. “What that all adds up to is massive swings to Labor in what was supposed to be the centre of Armageddon around the CFA issue,” he said.

“We did not get wiped out ... we have added to our vote,” he said.

Numerous seats in Victoria are at risk at falling from Labor’s hands, including Anna Burke’s old seat of Chisholm and David Feeney’s seat of Batman, while marginal Liberal seats of Dunkley and La Trobe are too close to call.

“I wouldn’t concede La Trobe or Dunkley or Chisholm yet, they’re still being counted,” Mr Andrews said.

Labor had hoped to pick up marginal Victorian seats but fear their hopes were dashed by the CFA dispute. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty

Mr Andrews, who ignored Mr Shorten’s election night party, yesterday defiantly denied the CFA dispute had been an issue. Picture: Aaron Francis

While Mr Andrews did not attend Mr Shorten’s Melbourne election night event, he said Mr Shorten had “run a fantastic campaign”

The swing to Labor in Victoria has been the smallest of any state in the country, at just 1.5 per cent, while Chisholm, a seat it was expected to hold, is in danger of being snatched by the Liberals.

Labor had also hoped to pick up at least two of marginal seats Corangamite, Dunkley or La Trobe, but none are predicted to go.

Mr Andrews, who ignored Mr Shorten’s election night party, yesterday defiantly denied the CFA dispute had been an issue.

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“I don’t have a crystal ball. I can only make the point Bill Shorten has run an outstanding campaign and we should be proud of him,” he said.

“We are set to have the highest vote in two-party preferred terms. In terms of individual seats I am ­delighted to say we had swings to us in Bendigo, Ballarat, McEwen and Bruce.’’

But ALP sources have hinted there could be retribution against the Victorian Premier if any seats are lost.

“Bill would have been able to take the stage with far more authority — winning seats in his own state on top of three in Tassie and big wins in NSW and Queensland,” a Labor source said.

“It cost us here no doubt. It’s sheer arrogance from him not to admit that.”

Another federal Labor MP told the Herald Sun the time was coming when powerbrokers “(Stephen) Conroy and (Kim) Carr are going to come under pressure to rethink their support of Andrews”.

CFA protests in the seat of Dunkley. Picture: Jason Sammon

Senator Carr said the CFA dispute had not impacted in Victoria and backed Mr Andrews’ decision to bring the dispute to a head.

“The Liberals sought to use the CFA but in all the so-called CFA seats there’s been a swing to Labor,’’ he said.

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Mr Shorten said: “The CFA issue at its heart is a state issue and the only solution for that is going to be at the state level.”

But Chisholm’s highly regarded retiring MP Anna Burke said the CFA had been a distraction while federal colleagues agreed it had hampered the swing in Victoria.

Turnbull said on election night he had every confidence the Coalition would form a majority government. Picture: David Moir/AAP

The normally media-savvy Mr Andrews laid low in the days leading up to the election but was seen campaigning in the seat of Bruce.

He also snubbed Mr Shorten’s election night party at Moonee Valley Racing Club, instead choosing to follow the results at an RSL in Noble Park. Mr Andrews said he had texted Mr Shorten to congratulate him following the ­results but denied the CFA issue had been discussed.

State Opposition leader Matthew Guy said Mr Andrews was the reason polls showed swings in Victoria that were different nationally.

“Daniel Andrews has cost Bill Shorten the prime ministership,” Mr Guy said.

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LIB: ANGER OVER FIREYS A VOTE-CHANGER

Corangamite: Sarah Henderson with CFA members. Picture: Rob Leeson

LIBERAL MP Sarah Henderson says there is “no doubt” anger over the CFA dispute that erupted into the federal election campaign has helped her hold on to her marginal seat.

The Corangamite MP, who represents the surf coast and parts of Geelong, is about 4000 votes ahead of Labor’s Libby Coker and remains quietly confident she will retain her seat after postal votes are counted.

“I have no doubt that the CFA issue did have an impact in Corangamite and across Victoria,” Ms Henderson told the Herald Sun.

“Volunteers felt incredibly let down.”

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The Herald Sun spoke to 100 people in the seat yesterday. More than 40 per cent of them voted Liberal, saying that the State Government’s handling of the CFA dispute had swayed their vote.

Ms Henderson accused Labor leader Bill Shorten of failing to stand up for volunteers and said he should have spoken out against Premier Daniel Andrews’s management of the crisis.

Ms Henderson was on a margin of 4 per cent before the election and told the Herald Sun she hoped to retain that margin after the vote was complete.

But Labor sources said the party was never confident of winning the electorate, and pointed to a small swing towards the party in the seat as proof that the CFA dispute hadn’t shifted any votes.

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Liberal candidate Julia Banks with her husband Mike and son Sam campaigning for votes at a Chisholm polling booth. Picture: Steve Tanner

AN anxious Julia Banks was quietly keeping an eye on the vote count yesterday as she celebrated her son Sam’s 21st birthday.

The Liberal candidate for Chisholm is on track to pick up the seat in Melbourne’s east, which has been held by the Labor Party’s Anna Burke since 1998. The former Speaker retired at this election.

In his election night speech, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull singled out Ms Banks for her “extraordinary efforts” in Chisholm, which could become the only seat the Liberal Party picks up after vote-counting is complete.

Running on about three hours’ sleep, Ms Banks told the Herald Sun she was “cautiously optimistic” about the result and had been contacted by the Prime Minister.

“There is still counting to go but I am buoyed and excited by the results that are coming through,” she said.

“I am just running on adrenaline.”

Ms Banks, a former lawyer and businesswoman, said the Coalition’s economic message had helped her secure a swing in the marginal seat, which includes the suburbs of Box Hill, Oakleigh and Blackburn.

“That’s where I think the support came through,” Ms Banks said.

“The people in Chisholm wanted that stability.”

She said that the CFA dispute “was also a factor” in swaying votes.

A result is not expected until tomorrow, so Ms Banks faces another sleepless night before she learns whether she will be on her way to Canberra next month.

POLITCIAL LIMBO COULD LAST A WEEK

AUSTRALIA faces a week of political limbo, with counting of a crucial 3.4 million remaining votes not to begin until tomorrow at the earliest.

More than two million postal and pre-poll votes are yet to be counted as the fate of 13 key seats, which could give or deny the Coalition a majority government, hang in the balance.

Australian Electoral Commission officials will today collate the huge numbers of absent, interstate and postal declarations, rather than count votes, before counting resumes tomorrow.

Due to the tight election race and a record amount of pre-poll and postal votes, a winner will not be declared for several days and may come down to a reliance on the Coalition securing crossbench support in a hung parliament.

Major parties will have teams of scrutineers watching over the shoulders of AEC staff counting the remaining votes, with every ballot potentially decisive and the prospect of recount requests or legal challenges by candidates or parties also on the cards.

“The reason the result was not clear last night was that around a third of Australians voted in pre-polling or via a postal vote,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said yesterday.

Mr Turnbull said he had “no doubt” there would be a result by the end of the week.

Labor leader Bill Shorten said although the prospect of voters returning to the polls had been raised in some quarters, the AEC should be allowed time to work through the count. “They don’t want Australians to rush back to the polls. I certainly don’t,” Mr Shorten said.

The AEC, which had 5000 officials still working yesterday to verify vote details and validity, must by law keep the postal count open for 13 days after Saturday to allow for delays in postal delivery.

Absentee, interstate, postal and other declaration votes were yesterday reconciled, sorted, packaged and sent to AEC home divisions today.

“Only once the declaration votes are received and processed in the home division can the counting of these votes begin,” the commission stated.

The commission also expects to receive about 75,000 votes from Australians overseas. A final outcome for all Senate positions after preferences is likely to take even longer, possibly weeks in some cases, even after identifying any clear winner in the House of Representatives.

“Some seats will become very clear in the next couple of days, from Tuesday on,” AEC spokesman Phil Diak said.

Changes to Senate preference voting have resulted in the AEC adopting a semi-automated process that uses scanners. But a push is already under way for a nationwide move to electronic voting, with independent MP Cathy McGowan arguing for additional resources for the AEC and use of electronic technology to make the process more efficient.