Welcome to the Gippsland Times & Maffra Spectator’s election coverage, with Stefan Bradley, Tom Parry and Gregor Mactaggart
Update: That is the end of our coverage this evening.
11:11pm
Thank you everyone for following us this evening. Be sure to pick up Tuesday’s paper and we’ll have more coverage of the election result.
11:08pm
All 71 polling places in the Division of Gippsland have now sent their results through.
With 77.9 per cent of the vote counted, Nationals candidate and incumbent MP Darren Chester has secured 55.45 per cent of first preference votes, and a 71-29 split 2PP.
This represents a 4.71 per cent swing to the Nationals.
11:02pm
Scott Morrison has just addressed the Liberal faithful in Sydney, conceding defeat to Labor and announcing he will not lead the party in the next term of Parliament. No word yet on when Albanese will address his Labor supporters.
10.40pm
It’s almost time for us to call it a night, but we wanted to update you with the Victorian Senate results.
The Coalition’s provisional quota currently sits at 2.23, Labor at 2.11 and the Greens 1.02.
One Nation’s quota was looking promising, but has since dropped to 0.22.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is currently making his way from Kirribilli House to Liberal Party headquarters, presumably to deliver his concession speech.
10.10am
The vote at the Morwell Senior Citizens Centre is still yet to be counted, but with the results of all but four polling places having been returned, it’s more than clear that Darren Chester has won the seat of Gippsland.
Despite a nationwide swing to the Labor Party, he has increased his 2PP vote by 4.45 per cent to achieve a 72-28 result in his favour.
Now, we just have to await the Federal result.
10:00pm
And we’re heading back to the Senate race once again to report that the Coalition’s quota has dropped to 2.4, with Labor’s now 1.97 and the Greens’ 0.94.
With these figures, we can assume that the Liberal/National party will have two members in the Victorian senate, Labor two and the Greens one, with the sixth spot yet to be determined.
9:30pm
Anthony Albanese will be the next Prime Minister of Australia. It is unclear whether it will be a minority or majority Government at this point. Scott Morrison has been defeated. Darren Chester retains Gippsland for the Nationals, but will now be in opposition.
9:23pm
From a Federal perspective, It’s now looking increasingly unlikely that the Coalition will be able to form government, in either majority or minority form.
The Liberal Party has lost the seats of Goldstein and North Sydney to independent candidates, and Chisholm, Higgins, Reid and Robertson to Labor.
Meanwhile, in Gippsland, Chester continues to hold his margin over Jannette Langley with 70 per cent of the vote counted.
9.02pm
Back to the Senate race briefly: the Coalition’s quota is currently 2.63, Labor’s 1.76, the Greens’ 0.85, and One Nation’s 0.29.
8:54pm
Nearly three hours in, 65 of the 71 polling places in the Division Gippsland have now returned their results.
Chester continues to maintain his lead over Jannette Langley in 2PP: 72-28
Pre-poll votes are being counted at the Sale Memorial Hall, but today’s ballots are yet to be recorded.
The AEC is yet to receive numbers from Morwell.
8.35pm
Returning to the Senate race now – the Coalition’s provisional quota has reduced slightly to 2.81
And Labor’s has increased to 1.57.
The Greens remain in third with 0.73, and One Nation fourth with 0.35
8:29pm
58 out of 71 polling places have now sent their results into the AEC.
Once again, Chester is maintaining his strong lead on both first preference (57 per cent) and 2PP (72-28).
The AEC is still yet to receive results from Morwell and the Sale Memorial Hall.
Liddiard Road Primary and Kosciuszko Street Primary in Traralgon have both returned their results, but Grey Street Primary and Stockdale Road Primary are both yet to post their figures.
8:26pm
Let’s have a quick look at what’s happening nationally.
ABC’s election guru Antony Green is predicting that Labor will win more seats than the Coalition, but is unable to predict whether either can form a majority government.
Currently, the ALP have garnered 30.5 per cent of the first preference vote nationwide, and the Coalition 35.3 per cent.
8:19pm
The battle for Monash continues to be one of intrigue.
With 50 polling places counted, Liberal incumbent Russell Broadbent has polled 37.85 per cent of first preference votes.
That represents a swing of 8.65 per cent against Mr Broadbent.
Labor’s Jessica O’Donnell is tracking at 24.23 per cent first preference, a swing of 5.01 per cent on her vote from the 2019 election.
Independent Deb Leonard is picking up that difference, polling 10.94 per cent.
Ms Leonard is just ahead of Greens candidate Mat Morgan.
Mr Morgan is at 10.20 per cent, a swing to him of 2.35 per cent on the previous election.
One Nation’s Allan Hicken has polled 7.77 per cent, with Christine McShane (United Australia Party) 4.55 per cent, Meg Edwards (Liberal Democrats) 3.57 per cent and David Welsh (Australia Federation Party) 0.89 per cent.
On a two-party preferred basis, Mr Broadbent is at 53.57 per cent with Ms O’Donnell on 46.43 per cent.
In Gippsland, Darren Chester’s dominance has strengthened with 56 polling stations counted.
Mr Chester is tracking at 57.49 per cent on first preference, 1.02 per cent more than the 2019 election.
That translates to a two-party preferred figure of 72.08 per cent, a swing of 5.41 per cent to him.
Labor’s Jannette Langley has polled 16.69 per cent, a swing away from the party of 4.17 per cent.
One Nation’s Greg Hansford is third with 9.03 per cent.
From a national landscape point of view, Labor is in front, but there is an increasing opinion that we may not see a clear-cut winner declared tonight.
As of 8.15pm, the ABC has Labor winning 61 seats, the Coalition on 47 seats, six seats to the minor parties and 37 seats in doubt.
8:05pm
Western Australia’s polls have shut, so the whole country has spoken!
Election analyst Antony Green said it could be ‘two or three weeks’ until we find out who forms government. It’s early days, but a hung parliament seems possible.
8:02pm
Since the results in Gippsland have barely moved, let’s look to our neighbours in the Division of Monash.
Labor’s result in our electorate is being mirrored there, with a 4.8 per cent swing against the ALP.
But, incumbent Liberal member Russell Broadbent has also experienced a swing against him of 8.73 per cent.
It’s important to note that the AEC is still waiting on results from voting centres in Leongatha, Moe and Warragul.
7:51pm
Chester is still holding a comfortable lead in both first preference (56.12 per cent) and 2PP (72-28) as the count nears the two-hour mark.
46 of 71 polling places have returned their results, with the AEC still waiting on results from Maffra, Stratford and Yarram, among other locations.
It’s Bob Katter’s birthday tomorrow, so we wish him Happy Birthday, and congratulations on winning his seat of Kennedy in Queensland!
7.41pm
Some interesting figures in the first preference vote for Gippsland.
One Nation, which didn’t field a candidate at the 2019 election, have garnered 9.17 per cent of the vote in 2022.
The Greens have increased their vote by 2.5% when compared with 2019, while the Liberal Democrats have achieved 3.46 per cent of the vote – despite the absence of candidate Jim McDonald throughout the six-week campaign.
Labor’s vote, meanwhile, has decreased by 4.36 per cent, despite candidate Jannette Langley’s hope of increasing the party’s vote.
7.35pm
Away from Gippsland now, there are some very early results coming in for the Victorian Senate race.
The Liberal/National ticket has achieved a provision quota of 3.06, which would guarantee the Coalition of three seats in the Senate.
Next is Labor with 1.14, guaranteeing one seat, followed by the Greens with 0.72, One Nation with 0.46, and the Liberal Democrats with 0.21.
Remember, there are currently six vacant spots for the Senate.
7:31pm
Aside from Victoria, polls have closed in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. Less than half an hour until Western Australia and the whole country closes.
7.24pm
Almost half of the 71 voting centres have returned their results to the AEC now.
Chester still leads comfortably with a 73-27 two-party preferred result in his favour.
Approximately 14 per cent of votes in Gippsland have been counted.
7:19pm
New England electorate count is showing Barnaby Joyce is showing him well ahead of Labor and the independent.
7.14pm
The ABC and Sky News have already called the seat of Gippsland for Chester, despite just 12 per cent of the vote being counted.
The Electoral Commission is still waiting on results to come in from Morwell and Traralgon, as well as the Sale Memorial Hall.
7.09pm
26 out of 71 polling places in the Division of Gippsland have now returned their results to the Australian Electoral Commission, including the key location of Lakes Entrance.
Chester continues to lead both first preference and two-party preferred.
Interestingly, his vote has barely moved when compared to the 2019 electron, with an indicated swing of just 0.14%
7:05pm
If you want to follow the neighbouring seat of Monash, follow the live coverage from our sister paper Latrobe Valley Express.
7:03pm
An hour into counting, and the two-party preferred figure has barely moved. Chester continues to lead against Langley, but his lead is slightly reduced, with figures now 72-28.
Darren Chester is the $1.01 favourite to retain his Gippsland seat.
7.01pm
More voting centres are sending their results through, including Cowwarr, Devon North, Eagle Point, Glengarry, Hazelwood North, Yallourn North, Lindenow, Newlands Arm, Port Albert and Sale Specialist School.
Chester’s first preference vote has jumped up again to 53.56%.
Historically, Chester’s lowest first preference vote was achieved in the 2008 by-election, when he polled 39.6 per cent.
6.59pm
While we wait; where did you vote today?
State member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien handed out how-to-vote cards for Darren Chester today at Araluen Primary School in Sale.
6.53pm
Results for Lucknow, Marlo and Tinnar are now feeding through.
Chester’s first preference vote has been reduced slightly to 47.16%
Just a reminder: there are 71 voting centres across the Division of Gippsland at this year’s Federal Election.
Mr Chester is the $1.01 favourite to retain his seat.
A total of 114,568 people are enrolled in the seat of Gippsland.
Mr Chester polled 66.67 per cent on a two-party preferred vote at the 2019 election compared to Labor’s 33.33 per cent.
Incumbent Russell Broadbent has been tipped to retain the seat of Monash, with Labor’s Jessica O’Donnell and Independent Deb Leonard expected to prove his stiffest opposition.
A total of 111,241 people are enrolled in the seat of Monash.
Mr Broadbent polled 56.86 per cent on a two-party preferred vote at the 2019 election compared to Ms O’Donnell 43.14 per cent.
Overall, Labor is fancied to win the Federal Election, a result that would make Anthony Albanese the country’s 31st Prime Minister.
6.42pm
Results are now coming in for Golden Beach and Toorloo Arm.
Chester leads the two-party preferred (2PP) vote 76-24 against Labor’s Jannette Langley.
But remember, these are very early results and not necessarily indicative of the final outcome.
6:38pm
Early results are in for the Division of Gippsland!
Darren Chester (NATS) currently leads on first preference with 55.31% of the vote.
These figures come from three voting centres at Buchan, Glenmaggie and Nowa Nowa.
Signs are looking good for the incumbent so far.
6:29pm
There are numbers coming in from the eastern states, but barely a percentage point. Stay tuned!
6:22pm
While you wait for the results, catch up with our election coverage from the past few weeks, in your newspapers or our online links:
Meet the Six Gippsland Candidates
6pm
The polls are now CLOSED in the eastern states.
