Federal election 2019: Libs poised to claim Chisholm

Liberal candidate Gladys Liu has all but claimed victory in the eastern Melbourne seat of Chisholm.

Liberal candidate for Chisholm Gladys Liu has all but claimed Chisholm.

Liberal candidate Gladys Liu has all but claimed victory in the eastern Melbourne seat of Chisholm, where she leads her Labor counterpart Jennifer Yang by 1405 votes.

Earlier this week the Australian Electoral Commission deemed the seat a probable win for the Liberals, delivering Prime Minister Scott Morrison the 76 seats he needs to form majority government.

With the Tasmanian seat of Bass since deemed another probable Liberal gain by the AEC, and the Liberals ahead in the NSW seat of Macquarie - one of two seats still too close to call - the Morrison government is on track to hold 78 seats in the 151 seat House of Representatives.

Ms Liu, who has won the seat previously held by Liberal Party defector Julia Banks, released a statement this afternoon, saying she was looking forward to being a part of the Morrison Liberal team and delivering on the commitments the party made to the Chisholm community during the election campaign.

“On current counting trends I will be the next Member for Chisholm,” Ms Liu said.

“I’m looking forward to representing my community in the Australian parliament and delivering on our plan for lower, simpler and fairer taxes.”

Ms Liu thanked Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his “outstanding leadership,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg for his “inspirational support,” and her campaign team.

“I can’t wait to be a strong local voice for the people of Chisholm,” she said.

“The community deserves a strong economy and a secure future and that’s what I’m determined to help provide.”

The AEC has deemed the Tasmanian seat of Bass, where Liberal candidate Bridget Archer leads Labor MP Ross Hart by 690 votes, a likely Liberal gain, and the Queensland seat of Lilley, where Labor candidate Anika Wells leads Liberal candidate Brad Carswell by 873 votes, a likely Labor retain.

Cowan, in Western Australia, is still regarded by the AEC as too close to call due to a favourable postal vote trend for the Liberals, despite Labor MP Anne Aly leading Liberal candidate Isaac Stewart by 833 votes.

In the NSW seat of Macquarie, which could give Mr Morrison his 78th seat, Liberal candidate Sarah Richards leads Labor MP Susan Templeman by a wafer-thin 77-vote margin a week after polls closed.

Chisholm Labor candidate Jennifer Yang is yet to concede defeat, with 9000 absentee votes still left to count.

Labor’s Chisholm candidate Jennifer Yang.

As The Weekend Australian revealed last week, Labor and the Greens are considering whether or not to join legal action being pursued by independent Kooyong candidate Oliver Yates, in a case that could have implications for Ms Liu’s win in Chisholm.

Mr Yates has threatened to take the Liberal Party to the Court of Disputed Returns over Chinese language signs, designed to resemble purple and white Australian Electoral Commission material, which told Chinese voters “the correct voting method” was to put a “1” next to the Liberal candidate and number the rest of the boxes from lowest to highest.

The AEC declined to take action following complaints on Election Day, saying the signs were authorised and there were no rules regarding the use of colour in campaign signage, but Mr Yates intends to pursue the matter in the Court of Disputed Returns, having obtained legal advice.

Labor used the same colour scheme for Mandarin signage in last year’s Bennelong by-election which stated, “Remember, you must number every square”.

Chisholm takes in the suburbs of Box Hill, Blackburn, Nunawading, Surrey Hills, Burwood, Forest Hill, Ashwood, Chadstone, Mount Waverley and Glen Waverley.

The win for the Liberals in Chisholm means Labor has picked up only three seats in Victoria, all of which were notionally Labor seats following the AEC redistribution.

Labor gained the newly created northwestern Melbourne seat of Fraser and won back Dunkley (notionally 1.0 per cent Labor), in Melbourne’s southeast, and Corangamite (notionally 0.03 per cent Labor) southwest of Geelong.