Eleven-member crossbench in Victoria’s upper house after micro-parties snatch seats

The Andrews Government will be forced to contend with an 11-member crossbench in Victoria’s upper house after a series of micro-parties managed to snatch seats. Find out who got in.

Reason Party leader Fiona Patten was returned to the upper house.

The Andrews Government will be forced to contend with a 11-member crossbench in Victoria’s upper house after a series of micro-parties managed to snatch seats.

Labor fell just shy of a majority in the Legislative Council with 18 MPs including senior ministers Gavin Jennings and Jaala Pulford elected.

The Coalition’s numbers were shaved from 16 seats to 11 — 10 Liberal and one Nationals.

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After a close contest, Reason Party leader Fiona Patten was returned with applause at the Victorian Electoral Commission’s calculations this afternoon.

She will sit on the crossbench with Shooters, Fishers and Farmers incumbent Jeff Bourman, Transport Matters’ Rodney Barton, Animal Justice’s Andy Meddick, Sustainable Australia’s Clifford Hayes and Liberal Democrats David Limbrick and Tim Quilty.

Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party claimed the most number of seats on the crossbench with three MPs to enter parliament.

Samantha Ratnam is the only remaining Green in the upper house. AAP Image/Daniel Pockett

Samantha Ratnam was the only Greens MP to have survived a near wipeout.

Their four other upper house MPs — Samantha Dunn, Nina Springle, Sue Pennicuik and Huong Trong — were all dumped.

Following the calculations, Ms Patten flagged the need for electoral reform and for the practice of preference grouping to be reviewed.

She was elected in 2014 with the help of “preference whisper” Glenn Druery but they have since clashed over deals.

Mr Druery did not assist Ms Patten this election but was key in shaping preferences for Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party candidates.

Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party has claimed three seats. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Mr Hinch said it was an enormous honour for a “fledgling political party” to claim three seats.

He said the party’s priorities would be to target soft sentencing, gang violence, bail issues and “weaknesses in the parole system”.

“As I said after the election, I congratulate Daniel Andrews on his resounding victory,” he said.

“It proves that ‘infrastructure’ — a word I loathe — is not a dirty word in this state.”

More to come …