Election rout for Labor
The campaign ran for eight months, but the business end of the race took a matter of minutes.
The coalition’s return to power in the 2013 federal election may have been a foregone conclusion weeks before the first ballot was cast.
But with the completion of that formality, the two sides symbolically shook hands and the keys to the Lodge and the right to govern Australia were passed to Liberal leader Tony Abbott.
Retiring defence minister Steven Smith cast off any remaining campaign-style defiance as soon as voting stopped in the eastern states, declaring the election lost less than a minute later.
The ABC’s veteran election analyst Antony Green, who has methodically plotted polling trends for two decades, got his money by trick at this poll. His job was done in less than an hour.
Labor’s plight became clear from the moment the very first figures flashed onto television screens.
You might like
Within half an hour the extent of the damage began to be revealed.
Even in the Labor stronghold of Tasmania the former government was on the nose, with even the seat of Lyons, held by the ALP’s Dick Adams for 20 years, in danger of being lost.
In Queensland the story wasn’t Labor leader Kevin Rudd, who will hold his seat, but the eccentric billionaire Clive Palmer.
The man who promised wealth for all is right in the race for the Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax.
In a predictable election, Queensland is proving slightly unpredictable, resisting the swing against Labor more strongly than any other state.
Victoria, on the other hand, is shaping as a bonus for the coalition with an overall swing of more than five per cent.
Stay informed, daily
But the Victorian swing is unlikely to be strong enough to dislodge Adam Bandt, the only Green in the lower house, who is defiantly clinging to the seat of Melbourne.
At 8.15pm (AEST), the AEC said the coalition was leading in 77 seats.
The party that wins 76 seats can form government.
Labor had 54 seats, with 20 not determined.
The two remaining crossbenchers in the parliament are likely to be Bob Katter in Kennedy and Andrew Wilkie in Denison.
But there is speculation that Clive Palmer could claim the Queensland seat of Fairfax for his Palmer United Party (PUP).
Of the seats still to be determined, 14 are held by coalition candidates, five by Labor and one by the Greens.
But it does appear Hotham (formerly held by Simon Crean), Charlton (formerly Greg Combet) and Rankin (formerly Craig Emerson) will remain with the new Labor candidates.
Former prime minister Julia Gillard’s seat of Lalor has also been retained.
The ABC is predicting the ALP will end up with 59 seats and the coalition 89.
In South Australia, it looks like only one seat will change hands, with the Labor-held seat of Hindmarsh likely to go to the Liberals.
In Adelaide there has been a swing against Labor’s Kate Ellis, but it does not look big enough to unseat her.
