Silver lining for depleted Liberals in teal contests
Andrew Brown and Dominic Giannini |
Fresh hope has emerged for a shattered Liberal Party after its electoral wipeout, with coalition candidates taking the lead in crucial contests with teal independents.
Despite losing a swathe of seats to Labor, confidence is growing the Liberals could retake the seat of Goldstein in Melbourne and hold on to Bradfield in Sydney.
Liberal challenger Tim Wilson could regain his old seat of Goldstein from teal MP Zoe Daniel, taking the lead in the marginal electorate by just 334 votes as postal votes come in.
While Ms Daniel claimed victory on Saturday night, postal votes and pre-poll ballots have made the contest come down to the wire.
Liberal Gisele Kapterian has edged ahead by 54 votes in the seat of Bradfield against independent challenger Nicolette Boele.
The two seat counts have restored some optimism in Liberal ranks after the party plunged to its lowest primary vote since its formation in the 1940s.
Greens leader Adam Bandt remains in danger of losing his seat of Melbourne to Labor’s Sarah Witty.
Labor is set to claim at least 86 seats to the coalition’s 39, with 15 electorates still too close to call as of Tuesday afternoon.
As they look to set out their second-term agenda, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong are splitting their attention between global and local issues.
President Donald Trump on Monday flagged a 100 per cent tariff on films made outside the US, before saying he would consult with the American film industry.
“Australia and America, we’ve worked so closely on so many great movies and so our movie and entertainment industries are really very interlinked and very collaborative,” Senator Wong told ABC radio on Tuesday.
“So what we would say to the Trump administration is it’s a great thing that we’re collaborating on doing, so let’s keep working together because that’s what viewers want to see.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns went further, saying it was “a terrible, terrible decision” as he called for film industry support, adding it will be difficult if studios start to shut.
The decision by the coalition to ramp up culture wars during the election “was a demonstration of why the Liberal Party had done so badly in Australia, cities and suburbs”, Senator Wong said.
“Overwhelmingly, Australians who live in cities and suburbs looked at the Liberal Party and said, ‘you don’t represent my aspirations, you don’t reflect the things I’m worried about’.”
Senator Wong pledged to serve the full term in the new government, adding: “I’m looking forward to being part of a third-term Labor government as well”.
Mr Albanese is mulling a refreshed cabinet with factional leaders to meet in coming days to present their picks.
But the leadership team of Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, Defence Minister Richard Marles and Trade Minister Don Farrell will remain.
Senator Wong, who doubles as the government’s Senate leader, issued a warning to the Greens to heed the results of the election after the minor party pledged to use its balance of power to force more progressive reforms.
“Australians rejected the politics of conflict and the politics of grievance and unfortunately, Adam Bandt in some ways is quite like Peter Dutton,” she told Nine’s Today Show.
The Liberal leadership contest is coming down to three contenders after Peter Dutton became the first opposition leader to lose his seat, with shadow treasurer Angus Taylor and deputy leader Sussan Ley the main frontrunners.
AAP
