Abbott defiant but nervous as NSW set for status quo result

Tony Abbott lets rip at the “vicious” campaign against him that has ended in the stabbing of one of his volunteers.

Tony Abbott, pictured this morning, has called the campaign against him in Warringah “nasty”.

Tony Abbott believes the Coalition remains in a “winnable” position, even though the Liberal Party’s hold on several NSW seats is inserious doubt.

Mr Abbott admitted to feeling nervous as he cast his vote in his Warringah electorate this morning, lamenting the “nasty” path the campaign had taken.

Despite holding the seat with an 11 per cent margin, Liberal sources say a strong challenge from independent Zali Steggall has made the win “too tight to call.”

Last night one of his volunteers was allegedly stabbed with a corkscrew, while a hollowed-out book with faeces inside was left outside Mr Abbott’s electorate earlier in May.

“We’ve seen a lot of low blows,” he told reporters outside Forestville Public School, where at least one of his corflutes had been defaced with a Hitler moustache.

Mr Abbot speaks to the media after voting on Saturday. Picture: AAP

“At one stage they sank into the gutter and then they went literally into the sewer.”

It culminated in an attack on a Liberal Party volunteer who was erecting posters at a polling booth in Balgowlah on Friday night.

The 31-year-old was allegedly stabbed in the stomach with a corkscrew, causing a minor injury. He was back at his post on Saturday, Mr Abbott said.

“Lucky he wasn’t seriously hurt,” he said.

“My message is the voters of Warringah should not reward this kind of really low and vicious behaviour. I’m not saying that any particular candidate is behind this, but there’s absolutely no doubt who these people want to beat.”

Police outside Balgowlah Heights Public School on Friday night, where a Tony Abbott supporter was attacked while putting up a campaign poster. Picture: Supplied

The alleged 62-year-old attacker, who also tore down banners, was later arrested and charged with two counts of common assault.

Ms Steggall said the incident was “appalling” but doesn’t believe the alleged culprit was linked to her campaign.

“We have checked and I don’t (believe) that they are. I would be extremely shocked and extremely disappointed (if they were),” she told reporters. “We should be respecting everybody.”

Mr Abbott takes his place in the queue as he waits to vote at Forestville Public School on Saturday.

After kissing her ballot paper and casting her vote, the former champion skier and lawyer distanced herself from the latest violent incident.

“We have tried very hard not to engage in the dirty tactics,” she told reporters.

“There has been a lot thrown at me but we have tried to stay above all that and deliver something positive.”

The Liberals look set to win the Sydney seat of Lindsay from Labor, but the ALP is hopeful of taking Gilmore on the south coast, setting the scene for a status quo result in NSW.

Although the Liberals are confident of their candidate Dave Sharma winning Wentworth from independent Kerryn Phelps.

The Nationals are confident of seeing off a challenge from independent Rob Oakeshott in ­Cowper.

The three other Liberal-held seats in play are Reid, Robertson and Banks, where internal polling has Labor at 48 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis. Banks is held by Immigration Minister David Coleman by 1.7 per cent.

Reid is the best chance for a Labor gain, insiders say, but the betting markets show the central coast seat of Robertson the most likely of the three to fall Labor’s way. If Labor fails in Robertson, its franking credits policy is expected to be blamed.

A senior Liberal source said the party had been trying to win back Dobell, Macquarie and Eden-Monaro from Labor, but they were now “longshots”.

Mr Abbott said yesterday he was “quietly confident”, even in the face of a strong GetUp campaign.

“It’s close, but … the message I’m giving people here in Warringah is just ‘be careful that you don’t vote in ways that bring in a Shorten Labor government, and the only way to avoid a Labor government in Canberra is to vote Liberal everywhere, but particularly in Warringah,” he said.

He added that he would not contemplate defeat, saying he had adopted a quote from Queen Victoria during the Boer War. Mr Abbott was then unable to remember it, but “whatever it was she said, I agree with it”.

School striker Vivienne Paduch, 15, wearing Stop Adani earrings at Queenscliff SLSC on Election Day in Sydney.

The quote is: “We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist.”

In Lindsay, which was held by Emma Husar for Labor before she was forced to step aside, preferences from One Nation, the United Australia Party and a Fraser Anning-backed candidate are expected to see the Liberals over the line.

Labor sources were speculating yesterday that Lindsay could be the only seat Labor loses to the Coalition in the country, despite Liberal hopes for Herbert, Longman and two Tasmanian seats.

Former state minister Diane Beamer is running for Labor in Lindsay but appears likely to fall short, with internal polling consistently showing her 47 per cent or worse on a two-party-preferred basis.

Because of surprise wins in Macquarie, Macarthur and Lindsay at the 2016 election, with much of the momentum for those victories coming off the “Mediscare” campaign, Labor holds 24 of the 47 seats in the state.