ELECTION BLOG: ACT remains a progressive stronghold as Pocock romps to victory

11 pm: The ACT will stay a progressive stronghold with the Liberal Party reduced to its lowest ever Senate vote and playing only a supportive role in a possible Independent victory in Bean.

Independent Senator David Pocock has romped to victory in the Senate topping the vote and easily securing a quota. He could be joined in the Parliament by Climate 200-backed community Independent Jessie Price in the southern seat of Bean where she is locked in a tight battle with incumbent Labor’s David Smith, despite his big margin of 12 per cent.

Late in the night, with 77 per cent of the vote counted, Mr Smith had 41 per cent, Ms Price 26.8 per cent, Liberal David Lamerton 23 per cent and Green Sam Carter 8.9 per cent. The two party preferred vote is projected to be independent 50.4 per cent and Labor 49.6 per cent.

Green preferences are leaking to Ms Price putting her ahead of Mr Smith but the result will go down to the wire.

Sitting members Andrew Leigh (Fenner) and Alicia Payne (Canberra) were untroubled and will be returned with increased majorities.

It is noteworthy that Senator Pocock forced ALP Senator and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher into second place in the Senate race, and now looks set for a long stint in federal politics.

The Liberals’ lead candidate Jacob Vadakkedathu, who virtually lost the confidence of the party before the election, was struggling to muster half a quota.

Mr Smith may yet survive in Bean but Ms Price’s strong vote and Senator Pocock’s emphatic victory shows that there remains an appetite for non-Labor candidates in the ACT but not the current crop of Liberals being offered.

Ms Price told Region she was overjoyed at the result and knew it would be close.

She said the issues were no surprise – cost of living, housing affordability, health and aged care, and climate action.

Labor needed a bit of a kick and the independent model was proving attractive to voters.

“We want to work collaboratively, we want to work across different levels of government, we want to bring the voice of the community,” she said. “It is fundamentally a collaborative model, and that’s why people are so drawn to it because it’s so positive and proactive and that’s the strength of it.”

Senator Pocock told Region that Ms Price was an outstanding candidate and the result here and across Australia showed that people wanted a different, more constructive kind of politics.

“She’s has energised a lot of people in the south and from what I’ve seen, you know, pre-poll and on polling stations today, a lot of support,” he said. “It’d be a great result, but we have to wait and see.”

Senator Pocock said he would continue to push for more Senate representation for the ACT in the next term so it can receive its due share of federal funding.

“I think we, we need more than two senators,” he said. “I’m very committed to engaging constructively and getting those extra senators for the ACT.”

Senator Pocock said he would tackle the big issues from integrity to lobbying reform as well as gambling advertising, housing, cost of living and health.

“There the big things I’ve been hearing from Canberrans,” he said. “We have to have more solutions that are actually tailored for the ACT and then climate and the environment.

“We’re going to get judged on by future generations and we’ve really got to get that right in the next Parliament.

“I’ll be fighting at every every opportunity, as I have been doing to ensure that we do see more investment in the ACT.”

While Labor will have a big majority in the lower house, Senator Pocock said the Senate would still require negotiation with the crossbench.

“It’s very unlikely that the government will have the majority in the Senate so there is going to have to continue to be good faith negotiation and, yeah, I’m very committed to doing that,” he said.

9:10 pm: The battle for Bean has taken another turn, with David Smith fighting back with nearly half the vote counted.

The Labor member has increased his vote to just over 40 per cent with the Green vote at 10 per cent.

Independent Jessie Price is at 27.6 per cent and Liberal David Lamerton 21.78.

It is still very tight, but Mr Smith looks like he may have his nose in front, depending on those Green preferences.

Labor has won a second term in office, with Anthony Albanese ending the revolving door of prime ministers, becoming the first PM in more than two decades to be reelected after serving a full term.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton looks set to not only have lost the election for the Coalition, but also his own seat of Dickson in Queensland. The ABC’s political analyst Antony Green called the election for Labor before 8:30 pm.

While the election may be called for Labor, its Member for Bean, David Smith, is in a battle royale with independent Jessie Price, who’s just ahead with Liberal preferences.

With almost 34 per cent of the vote counted, Mr Smith has 39.6 per cent of the vote, Ms Price 28.5 per cent and Mr Lamerton 21.4 per cent. Green Sam Carter is on 10.4 per cent.

With most Liberal preferences to go to Ms Price, it will come down to just how many Green preferences Mr Smith can garner.

8:30 pm: In the Senate, independent David Pocock looks like he will be returned to the Senate.

He is topping the vote at 1.2 quotas.

Labor’s Katy Gallagher has almost .9 of quota. Liberal Jacob Vadakkedathu has .46 of a quota, and the Greens .28 of quota.

8:10 pm: In the seat of Canberra, Labor’s Alicia Payne is, unsurprisingly, well ahead with 48 per cent of the vote, with a quarter of the vote counted.

Green Isobel Mudford is polling just under 20 per cent, and Liberal Will Roche 17 per cent.

Independent Claire Miles’ vote is at 11 per cent.

In the seat of Fenner, Labor’s Andrew Leigh looks home and hosed with 22 per cent of the vote counted.

He is polling 53.8 per cent of the vote. Green Dani Hunterford is on 18 per cent, while Liberal Bola Olatunbosun is at 19 per cent.

Family First’s Elizabeth Kikkert, a former liberal MLA, is gathering just 8 per cent.

7:55 pm: Labor’s David Smith is in trouble in Bean, and will be hoping the Greens’ vote continues to pick up and that their preferences will stay true to Labor.

With 20.74 per cent of the vote counted, Mr Smith has 38.97 per cent of the vote, Jessie Price 28.38, Liberal David Lamerton 22.06 and the Greens Sam Carter on 10.6.

7:25 pm: As figures come in from more booths in Bean, Labor’s David Smith has gone to the lead on first preference votes. He is now on 3678, then independent Jessie Price on 2736 and the Liberals’ David Lamerton on 2087.

But Liberal preferences are flowing to Ms Price.

Mr Smith’s vote is down -1.2 per cent, and the Liberal vote -6.4 per cent. The Greens’ vote is down -4 per cent.

7:06 pm: Labor’s Andrew Leigh is taking an early lead in Fenner on 90 votes, Liberal Bola Olatunbosun 21 and Green Dani Hunterford on 25.

In Canberra, Labor’s Alicia Payne on 225, and the Greens’ Isobel Mudford, 185, are close in the early count. Liberal Will Roche is back on 88.

6:50 pm: Early figures in Bean show Independent Jessie Price outpolling Labor’s David Smith 181 to 141 on the first preference vote but this is just on two booths – Norfolk Island and Hughes.

The Liberals’ David Lamerton is on 80 and the Greens’ Sam Carter 55.

Independent for Bean Jessie Price was feeling pretty up when she went to vote for herself at Duffy Primary School at 3 pm.

By then, she said she and her team had picked up the sentiment from around the electorate’s booths.

“The vibe’s pretty good,” she told Region.

6:05 pm: Voting has closed across the eastern states and counting has begun in an election that polls suggest will see the return of the Labor Albanese Government.

But sections of the vote have been soft and both the major parties’ primary vote has dipped so preferences will be crucial.

In the ACT, the Liberals have hardly had a campaign to fight, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton promising massive public service cuts and not making any funding commitments here.

The main contests will be in the Senate between Independent David Pocock and Labor’s Katy Gallagher for the top spot, and in Bean, where incumbent Labor member David Smith is facing an energetic challenge from Independent Jessie Price.

Region will bring you local election count updates throughout the evening.