Australian Election Results Thread

[JohnnyLongtorso]

What's the deal with the Senate? Why do the Greens have five seats, but no representation in the House?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

What's the deal with the Senate? Why do the Greens have five seats, but no representation in the House?

The Senate is elected by proportional representation. The House is elected by IRV in single seat constituencies.

[Verily]

What's the deal with the Senate? Why do the Greens have five seats, but no representation in the House?

The Senate is elected by proportional representation. The House is elected by IRV in single seat constituencies.

"Proportional" is one word that should not be used in conjunction with the Australian Senate, which has no population equalization and has two two-member STV districts that guarantee 2 seats each for the ALP and Coalition.

[minionofmidas]

Liberals gain Swan.

What happened there?

Looks like they probably didn't, still too close to call. They definitely did take Cowen, though.

Fran Bailey - a Liberal minister who seems to have just BARELY survived in her VIC sea of McEwen

Narrowly trailing with just one or two polls still out IIRC.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Current status of the really close seats...

McEwen: ALP lead by 570 votes
Herbert: ALP lead by 506 votes
Dickson: ALP lead by 473 votes
La Trobe: ALP lead by 400 votes
Bowman: ALP lead by 379 votes
Sturt: Lib lead by 79 votes
Macarthur: Lib lead by 225 votes
Swan: ALP lead by 285 votes
Cowper: Nat lead by 687 votes

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Current status of the really close seats...

McEwen: ALP lead by 570 votes
Herbert: ALP lead by 506 votes
Dickson: ALP lead by 473 votes
La Trobe: ALP lead by 400 votes
Bowman: ALP lead by 379 votes
Sturt: Lib lead by 79 votes
Macarthur: Lib lead by 225 votes
Swan: ALP lead by 285 votes
Cowper: Nat lead by 687 votes

Where did you get this info?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Current status of the really close seats...

McEwen: ALP lead by 570 votes
Herbert: ALP lead by 506 votes
Dickson: ALP lead by 473 votes
La Trobe: ALP lead by 400 votes
Bowman: ALP lead by 379 votes
Sturt: Lib lead by 79 votes
Macarthur: Lib lead by 225 votes
Swan: ALP lead by 285 votes
Cowper: Nat lead by 687 votes

Where did you get this info?

AEC website

[Tetro Kornbluth]

One interestingly thing I noticed: when browsing the AEC (and later the ABC) I noticed the voter turnouts - they were mostly all in the 70% range; good-ish for a modern democracy but hey what happened to compulsory voting here. Or is there some explaination here that I need?

[Robespierre's Jaw]

I'm not surprised with the results from the election. I had a gut feeling that the ALP led by Kruddmeister would win and they did. The Liberal Party, which will be led by Peter Costello has a lot of ground to cover if they're to win in 2010. I highly doubt they will win, so 2013 or 2016 is a realistic chance for them to win back the Lodge.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

One interestingly thing I noticed: when browsing the AEC (and later the ABC) I noticed the voter turnouts - they were mostly all in the 70% range; good-ish for a modern democracy but hey what happened to compulsory voting here. Or is there some explaination here that I need?

That's not actual turnout - it's proportion of the vote counted. A lot of postal and pre-poll votes are yet to be counted. Add those to the votes from yesterday that also were not counted.. there you have a much higher number.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

RECAP OF RESULTS

Australian Labor Party: 82 seats WINNER
Liberal/National Party: 58 seats
Independents: 2 seats
In Doubt: 8 seats

Key Points

• John Howard likely to lose Bennelong to Labor's Maxine McKew.
• Swing of 5.6% to the Australian Labor Party which 70% of the vote counted.
• The Greens set to hold the balance of power in the Senate.
• Family First gains a seat in the Senate. The Democrats all but finished.
• Four Coalition Ministers lose seats, Mal Brough, Christopher Pyne, Di-Ann Kelly & Phil Baresi.

[Hash]

Uh, Family First didn't pick up any Senate seat.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

...and Pyne is ahead 50.5/49.5

[Democratic Hawk]

When does counting resume?

Dave

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

They've already resumed.

The swing in Bennelong has increased to almost 6%

[Democratic Hawk]

They've already resumed.

Well, ABC, which has been my primary source, doesn't seem to have updated its live results since 1.01AM

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Dave

[Democratic Hawk]

Is it me or do some of these so-called 'Liberals' actually verge on being psychotically right-wing? A right nutjob seems to have just been elected in Mitchell, NSW

Dave

[Verily]

RECAP OF RESULTS

Australian Labor Party: 82 seats WINNER
Liberal/National Party: 58 seats
Independents: 2 seats
In Doubt: 8 seats

Key Points

• John Howard likely to lose Bennelong to Labor's Maxine McKew.
• Swing of 5.6% to the Australian Labor Party which 70% of the vote counted.
• The Greens set to hold the balance of power in the Senate.
• Family First gains a seat in the Senate. The Democrats all but finished.
• Four Coalition Ministers lose seats, Mal Brough, Christopher Pyne, Di-Ann Kelly & Phil Baresi.

The Greens do not hold the balance of power in the Senate. The new Senate will be:

ALP: 32
Lib: 32
Green: 5
Nat: 4
CLP: 1
FFP: 1
Nick Xenophon: 1

That leaves the Coalition with 37 seats (38 including the FFP), the ALP+Greens with 37 seats and Nick Xenophon (someone for BRTD to really have a grudge against!) with the balance of power.

By the way, does anyone think that sometime in the future the ALP and Greens might end up in a coalition similar to the Liberal/National coalition? Not immediately, obviously, just eventually. There has never been a prolonged major party on the fringes before, just the Democrats in the center and the one-hit wonder of One Nation on the far-right.

[Democratic Hawk]

I'm not surprised with the results from the election. I had a gut feeling that the ALP led by Kruddmeister would win and they did. The Liberal Party, which will be led by Peter Costello has a lot of ground to cover if they're to win in 2010. I highly doubt they will win, so 2013 or 2016 is a realistic chance for them to win back the Lodge.

I'm afraid not. Peter Costello won't be leading the Liberal Party anywhere. He has announced:

"He will not seek not will I accept the leadership or deputy leadership of the Liberal Party"

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=305478

Dave

[Democratic Hawk]

By the way, does anyone think that sometime in the future the ALP and Greens might end up in a coalition similar to the Liberal/National coalition? Not immediately, obviously, just eventually.

Possibly, should the Greens ever secure significant representation in the House. Are there any divisions in which the Greens have a realistic shot at beating Labor in first preferences?

It's logical for Green voters to cast 2nd preferences for Labor, but would Labor supporters really want to see Labor step aside to give the Green candidate a clear run against the Liberals?

Dave

[Verily]

By the way, does anyone think that sometime in the future the ALP and Greens might end up in a coalition similar to the Liberal/National coalition? Not immediately, obviously, just eventually.

Possibly, should the Greens ever secure significant representation in the House. Are there any divisions in which the Greens have a realistic shot at beating Labor in first preferences?

It's logical for Green voters to cast 2nd preferences for Labor, but would Labor supporters really want to see Labor step aside to give the Green candidate a clear run against the Liberals?

Dave

What's more likely is that the Greens will inch past the Liberals in some inner-city seats, then overthrow Labor with Liberal preferences, as happened in the Cunningham by-election. This correlates well with how the Nationals perform: most Nationals seats are seats that would be overwhelmingly Liberal anyway (except in Queensland, where the Nationals were traditionally stronger than the Liberals and so they hold and compete in some marginals).

[ag]

Well, ABC, which has been my primary source, doesn't seem to have updated its live results since 1.01AM

If I am to go by the past form, ABC election-night website doesn't get updated beyond the election night. Look at tha AEC webpage.

[Democratic Hawk]

Well, ABC, which has been my primary source, doesn't seem to have updated its live results since 1.01AM

If I am to go by the past form, ABC election-night website doesn't get updated beyond the election night. Look at tha AEC webpage.

Thanks

[Platypus]

So, Costello not taking up the baton, Howard out, a hostile-ish senate and a very volatile yet reasonably sign ificant majority. Interesting times ahead.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

I am really shocked that Peter Costello has declined to run for the Liberal Party Leadership or stay on as Deputy Leader of the Libs. I wonder who will become Leader of the Liberal Party? Will it be the outgoing Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull or could it be Alexander Downer. If it's him the Libs have no chance in hell of winning in 2010.

Sorry for some of my mistakes before. Especially the one where I said that the Family First Party, led by Steve Fielding of Victoria, gained a seat in the Senate. Blame my friend for that.