Federal Election 2019: Scott Morrison, Coalition pull off shock victory
Scott Morrison says he is thankful to live in the “greatest country in all the world” as he walked into church this morning.
Scott Morrison says he is thankful to live in the “greatest country in all the world” as he walked into church this morning.
“I want to thank everyone in the electorate and my local team here ..everyone has done such a fantastic job,” the Prime Minister said.
“I give thanks to live in the greatest country in all the world.
Thanks again to all Australians all across the country.”
Hugging members of the Horizon church congregation, Mr Morrison praised the people of the Sutherland Shire in his home seat of Cook, and his team of local volunteers. “They have stayed with me ever since I was first elected to parliament in 2007,” he said.
“You don’t get to be prime minister and serve in that capacity unless you are first a member of your local electorate.”
Last night, after pulling off one of the biggest electoral recoveries in modern history and retained government for the Coalition, the Prime Minister declared: “I have always believed in miracles.”
Emphatic swings to the government in Queensland and Tasmania dashed Bill Shorten’s hopes of becoming Prime Minister, forcing his resignation as Labor leader.
With 59.2 per cent of the vote counted, the Coalition appeared to have won 74 seats to Labor’s 66 seats but had a path to a majority government as it held leads in three seats that remained too close to call. The government needs 76 seats to have a majority in its own right in the 151 seat House of Representatives.
Independents and the Greens had won six seats and five seats remained in doubt.
Shortly after 11.30pm Mr Shorten addressed the party faithful in Melbourne after calling the Prime Minister and conceding defeat.
“I know that you are all hurting, and I am too,’’ Mr Shorten said. He announced he would not be a candidate at the next Labor leadership ballot but would remain in parliament.
“It is obvious that Labor will not be able to form the next government and so in the national interest a short while ago I called Scott Morrison to congratulate him and I wish Jenny and their daughters all the very best and, above all, I wished Scott Morrison good fortune and good courage in the service of our great nation. The national interest required no less.
“This has been a tough campaign, toxic at times, but now that the contest is over all of us have a responsibility to respect the result, to respect the wishes of the Australian people to bring our nation together.”
Mr Shorten said he was proud Labor had argued “what was right, not what was easy’’ and that it had campaigned on a positive vision.
“We were up front and clear about the reforms that both sides of politics have ignored for decades,’’ Mr Shorten said.
Mr Morrison, addressing ecstatic Liberal supporters in Sydney, said: “I have always believed in miracles.’’
“I am standing with the three biggest miracles in my life tonight,’’ he said as he stood with his wife Jenny and two girls. “And tonight we have been delivered another one. How good is Australia? And how good are Australians? This is the best country in the world in which to live and it’s those Australians that we have been working for in the past five-and-a-half years.’’
Mr Morrison said it was “the quiet Australians who have won a great victory tonight. Because it’s always been about them.’’ He said the victory was not about him or the Liberal Party. “Tonight it about every single Australian who depends on their government to put them first.”
He said the government would get back to work just as Gladys Berejiklian got back to work in NSW.
Of the seats in doubt, the Liberal Party held leads in Chisholm in Victoria and Macquarie in NSW and was swapping the lead in Wentworth with sitting independent Kerryn Phelps.
If those leads hold, the Coalition would win power in its own right with a bare majority of 76 seats in the 151 seat House of Representatives.
The result marks a dramatic turnaround for the government after Malcolm Turnbull was dumped as Prime Minister last August, sparking a collapse in support among voters and the eventual loss of its majority after the Liberals were defeated in last year’s Wentworth by-election
Mr Morrison will now have unrivalled authority in the new government while Mr Shorten has suffered a devastating setback that will spark a leadership ballot.
Queensland emphatically rejected Labor’s campaign with a 4.5 per cent swing to the government.
The Coalition won the seat of Longman north of Brisbane and Herbert around Townsville, the latter fuelled by anger at delays to approvals for the Adani coalmine. The marginal central Queensland seats of Capricornia and Flynn swung heavily behind the government.
In NSW the government snatched the western Sydney seat of Lindsay from the Coalition but lost the seat of Gilmore to Labor.
Tony Abbott, the former prime minister lost his seat of Warringah to the independent Zali Steggall after a strong campaign against him by climate change activists including GetUp.
Former independent Rob Oakeshott failed to take the seat of Cowper from the Nationals and Kerryn Phelps was leading last night in a tight race with Liberal Dave Sharma.
The Liberals were leading Labor 50.65 per cent to 49.35 per cent in Macquarie last night which would put the government on the verge of victory in the seat and another gain from the ALP.
In Victoria, the sweep Labor had been hoping for failed to eventuate and it achieved a swing of just 1.7 per cent.
It won the former Liberal seats of Corangamite and Dunkley, which had become nominally Labor after a redistribution. But it failed to win Casey and the Liberals’ vote in La Trobe improved.
In Chisholm, which was won by Julia Banks in 2016, who subsequently quit and turned independent in the fallout over Malcolm Turnbull’s dumping and contested Flinders, the Liberals were leading last night by 50.36 per cent to Labor’s 49.64 per cent.
The Liberals won the seats of Bass and Braddon in Tasmania from Labor.
South Australia and Western Australian appeared set to remain unchanged in counting last night.
Last night the government was also holding a narrow lead in Boothby in South Australia but it remained too close to call.
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