Extract from The Guardian
The Australian Electoral Commission has declared the last remaining
House of Representatives seat for Labor, leaving the Turnbull government
with a majority of just one.
The AEC on Sunday said Labor’s Cathy O’Toole had prevailed over the Liberal incumbent Ewen Jones in the north Queensland seat of Herbert by 37 votes.
The declaration of Herbert leaves the Coalition with 76 seats post election and Labor with 69 seats. But the Liberals have flagged an intention to challenge the result in the court of disputed returns. The government has 40 days to mount such a challenge after the writs are returned.
Speaking on Sky News ahead of the declaration, the special minister of state, Scott Ryan, confirmed that was the decision-making timetable.
“It’s marginally less than 40 days on this occasion due to some administrative arrangements, but let’s just say that it’s about 40 days from next weekend,” Ryan said on Sunday morning.
Malcolm Turnbull last week sent a strong signal the Coalition would contest any loss in Herbert in court on the basis there were allegations that electors in Herbert were not able to vote in the contest.
It is claimed some soldiers from Lavarack Barracks missed out on voting while they were on Exercise Hamel in South Australia during the election campaign.
A number of Townsville hospital patients are also believed not to have been given the opportunity to vote.
The Liberals have been collecting affidavits and other preparatory material in anticipation of a challenge. Jones was unavailable for comment on Sunday.
Speaking in the Northern Territory on Sunday, the Labor leader, Bill Shorten, said he hoped the government would accept the result and not have a “dummy spit”.
Shorten said the ALP would deal with any eventuality in the seat but he said there would have to be strong grounds to seek a court challenge in the seat, and he said the residents of Townsville would be frustrated with procedural skirmishing.
Labor has been pouring resources into north Queensland seats over several election cycles but the party has not managed to win back Herbert for the past 20 years.
Unemployment is high in Townsville and One Nation performed well in the seat, attracting more than 13% of the vote in the recent election.
Funding the stadium in the town was a major issue during the recent campaign, and the Liberals committed to funding it comparatively late in the election cycle.
The AEC is also continuing the Senate count almost a month after polling day. Final results are expected by Thursday this week.
The AEC on Sunday said Labor’s Cathy O’Toole had prevailed over the Liberal incumbent Ewen Jones in the north Queensland seat of Herbert by 37 votes.
The declaration of Herbert leaves the Coalition with 76 seats post election and Labor with 69 seats. But the Liberals have flagged an intention to challenge the result in the court of disputed returns. The government has 40 days to mount such a challenge after the writs are returned.
Speaking on Sky News ahead of the declaration, the special minister of state, Scott Ryan, confirmed that was the decision-making timetable.
“It’s marginally less than 40 days on this occasion due to some administrative arrangements, but let’s just say that it’s about 40 days from next weekend,” Ryan said on Sunday morning.
Malcolm Turnbull last week sent a strong signal the Coalition would contest any loss in Herbert in court on the basis there were allegations that electors in Herbert were not able to vote in the contest.
It is claimed some soldiers from Lavarack Barracks missed out on voting while they were on Exercise Hamel in South Australia during the election campaign.
A number of Townsville hospital patients are also believed not to have been given the opportunity to vote.
The Liberals have been collecting affidavits and other preparatory material in anticipation of a challenge. Jones was unavailable for comment on Sunday.
Speaking in the Northern Territory on Sunday, the Labor leader, Bill Shorten, said he hoped the government would accept the result and not have a “dummy spit”.
Shorten said the ALP would deal with any eventuality in the seat but he said there would have to be strong grounds to seek a court challenge in the seat, and he said the residents of Townsville would be frustrated with procedural skirmishing.
Labor has been pouring resources into north Queensland seats over several election cycles but the party has not managed to win back Herbert for the past 20 years.
Unemployment is high in Townsville and One Nation performed well in the seat, attracting more than 13% of the vote in the recent election.
Funding the stadium in the town was a major issue during the recent campaign, and the Liberals committed to funding it comparatively late in the election cycle.
The AEC is also continuing the Senate count almost a month after polling day. Final results are expected by Thursday this week.
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