IT was a surprisingly straightforward election.
Just a few hours in, we knew that Labor had won a majority once again. No miracle win for the Liberals. The ‘Greenslide’ didn’t happen, and the ‘Teal’ independents didn’t make their mark. No chance of deals with independents to form a minority government, especially when all the independents were wiped out. The Nationals as a party performed exceptionally well and have dramatically increased their representation in Parliament.
Counting will continue, and quite a few seats have not been called. We will see what happens in the Upper House, but in the Lower House, it looks like a return to the status quo. Aside from The Nationals taking three seats off independents, has anything really changed from 2018?
At the time of print, the ABC had called 52 lower house seats for Labor, 25 for the Coalition, four for the Greens and zero for independents. The number required for a majority is 45, and there are seven seats in doubt.
