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Federal election: Labor needs one more seat for majority as vote count continues, Greens secure Brisbane seat — as it happened

Watch ABC News Channel's comprehensive coverage of the 2022 Federal Election.

Katy Gallagher says the new government is going to work "line by line" through the federal budget to find opportunities to relieve some of the challenges facing the economy.

Look back at Sunday's updates as they happened in our blog.

Key events

Live updates

By Shiloh Payne

We're going to wrap up our live coverage here

Thanks for joining us today.

You can follow the latest on the election count as it happens here, and you can keep up-to-date with all the latest news here.

By Shiloh Payne

David Speers interviews Finance Minister Katy Gallagher about spending pressures in the budget, campaign spending caps, and cost of living measures.

By Shiloh Payne

Gallagher: Election spending caps should be considered

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher says a move to implement spending caps on federal election campaigns should be considered. 

While expenditure caps exist at a state level -- at a federal level, there are currently no limits on how much parties can raise or spend trying to get elected. 

Senator Gallagher says money should not be dictating election outcomes. 

"I think it's definitely a question we should look at and explore further in light of the democracy, how it's working and the impact on elections, but this is for the Parliament to decide, not for individual members," she said.

By Shiloh Payne

PM concedes 'lessons are very clear' from Keneally's defeat in Fowler

Here's the latest from political reporter Stephanie Dalzell:

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese concedes the Labor party has lessons to learn from its humiliating defeat in the once-safe south-west Sydney seat of Fowler in the recent election. 

In the lead-up to the federal poll, then-frontbencher Kristina Keneally was controversially parachuted into the multicultural seat, which had been held by the Labor party since 1984.

But independent local candidate Dai Le managed to overturn Labor's 14 per cent margin to secure a shock victory over the former NSW premier, saying the ALP had paid the price for an "arrogant" decision to relocate Ms Keneally from the northern beaches to south-west Sydney.

Mr Albanese told Sky News the ALP is closely examining what went wrong.

"You have to learn lessons from an outcome like that — I think the lessons are very clear that the community sent a message," he said.

"Kristina Keneally is a big loss to our team, she was a valued friend, she was the deputy senate leader, and it is a loss, but you have to accept outcomes in democratic processes.

"But you also have to learn from them and we will take note of the lessons which are there."

By Shiloh Payne

What happened yesterday?

Is there a link to yesterday's blog? Had a big day and missed out!

-Andrea

Hey Andrea, there sure is! 

Here's a bit of a recap for you:

  • The election of new, diverse parliamentarians has prompted calls for government to increase cultural representation in cabinet
  • Peter Dutton said Morrison did 'nothing wrong' in publicising the boat turnback
  • The AEC released three-candidate preferred counts for Brisbane and Macnamara
  • Peter Dutton also said the government should explain why it intervened in the Biloela family case

You can find all of our updates from yesterday's blog here

By Shiloh Payne

Here's a wrap of what happened this week in politics.

By Shiloh Payne

Key Event

Will the government extend the fuel excise?

Here's more from Finance Minister Katy Gallagher on Insiders.

Question: The fuel excise cut only lasts six months. That ends in September and, bang, the price goes back up. Can you afford to extend that?

Senator Gallagher: The fuel excise cut costs around $3 billion for a 6-month period, so it does have a high cost to the budget.

We said before the budget that it was unlikely we would continue that cut beyond the end of September, and I think that remains the case. That's what we said before the election and that's what we've said afterwards.

By Shiloh Payne

Key Event

PM 'won't underestimate' new opposition leader

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he won't underestimate his likely opponent, conservative Liberal Peter Dutton.

Mr Dutton looks set to take over from Scott Morrison as next leader of the Liberal party tomorrow, with former environment minister Sussan Ley shaping up as the frontrunner to take on the deputy position.

On Sky News, Mr Albanese has been asked whether there's a chance Labor could dismiss Mr Dutton as a political adversary.

"I never underestimate my opponents. During the campaign, you might have heard me say [...] that I've been underestimated my whole life. I think there are some people who are regretting under estimating me over the last three years," Mr Albanese said.

By Shiloh Payne

Key Event

An update on expected results

While the AEC is continuing to process votes and declaration envelopes, we’re not expecting any significant updates in the numbers today.

You can keep up to date with the ABC's live election results here

By Shiloh Payne

Sandy Bolton, Queensland's first teal independent, on what the new guard can expect

Just before 9pm on election night, the utterly safe and wealthy Liberal seat of Mackellar on Sydney’s northern beaches fell to a well-known local GP named Sophie Scamps running as an independent.

The victories for the so-called "teal independents" would keep coming, and their success in such tightly held Coalition seats has changed a government, shocked the major parties and may force the Nationals into an ugly leadership fight.

More than 1,000 kilometres away from Dr Scamps’s victory party was Sandy Bolton, watching the coverage from her Noosa home.

She's no psychic but nevertheless, she saw it coming.

Ms Bolton pried the safe state LNP seat of Noosa from the LNP in 2017, running as an independent with teal signage and shirts.

She might be described as Australia's first teal independent — and is still the only independent MP in Queensland parliament.

"It was like something I knew years ago," she said.

"We need to see different politics and a different parliament — and here we go, at a federal level I think we're seeing that."

By Shiloh Payne

Gallagher: Government focused on investing in clean energy, childcare and skills

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher says the government "can't pretend" spending cuts aren't coming in the October Budget, but she maintains some key commitments.

"We are absolutely 100 per cent focused on delivering the commitments we made to the Australian people," Senator Gallagher says.

"Those investments are more important really than any time before because we need to use those key commitments in cleaner and cheaper energy, in child care, in skills to actually drive the economic growth that will help deliver a return to the Budget and help and assist with some of those challenges and budget repair."

By Shiloh Payne

Katy Gallagher says there are 'Significant challenges facing economy and Budget'

Minister for Finance Katy Gallagher is speaking on Insiders, where she says the government is "inheriting a very serious set of economic and Budget challenges" as they prepare for a budget in October.

"We need to be up-front with the Australian community about that," Senator Gallagher said.

"We need to have a look line by line through the Budget which is the job that I've started now to look at where we can find opportunities to relieve some of those challenges or to work towards some Budget repair, but clearly there are some significant challenges facing both the economy and the Budget."

She says the government has inherited the "worst set of budget books" and high levels of debt.

By Shiloh Payne

David Littleproud to challenge Barnaby Joyce for National party leadership

Deputy Nationals leader David Littleproud has confirmed he will try to topple Barnaby Joyce as leader when the party meets in Canberra on Monday.

Mr Littleproud, who was agriculture minister in the Coalition government and is the Member for Maranoa in Queensland, said in a statement: "This afternoon I advised Barnaby Joyce of my intention to nominate for the position of Leader of The Nationals.

"I also took the opportunity to thank him for all his service to our party.

"I feel this is the appropriate time to put myself forward for my party room's consideration as their leader.

"Ultimately, this is a decision on who will lead the Nationals to the 2025 election. Therefore, out of respect to my colleagues, I will be making no further public statements until after the meeting on Monday."

By Shiloh Payne

ICYMI: AEC releases three-candidate preferred counts in Macnamara

On Friday, the Australian Electoral Commission released three-candidate preferred counts for the seat of Macnamara.

The AEC says the counts are still in process and will allow them to identify the final two candidates for each seat.

The ABC's Chief Election Analyst Antony Green says the count is difficult to interpret at this stage because it's not quite complete.

Three-candidate preferred counts were also released for the seat of Brisbane on Friday, which the Greens have since won.

Here's how it was looking for Macnamara yesterday:

Candidate Party Votes % of 3CP
HARKIN, Colleen Liberal 29,202 33.56%
BURNS, Josh Australian Labor Party 29,152 33.50%
HODGINS-MAY, Steph The Greens 28,657 32.93%

By Shiloh Payne

Analysis: The question Dutton may ask himself: What would Howard do?

The voices of those so long silenced in our democracy may well speak very loudly during this term of parliament, writes Stan Grant.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart will help define the Albanese government and the future of the Peter Dutton-led opposition.

It will tell us much about our democracy. 

The Uluru Statement's time has come. Anthony Albanese's first commitment in his victory speech on election night was to pledge a referendum to enshrine a voice for First Nations people in the constitution

It lands at the crossroads of political upheaval that is shaking democracies worldwide and, now, here in Australia. The federal election has broken open our politics.

Does that make a referendum harder — not easier — to win?

Albanese is sailing into fierce political headwinds. When asked during the election campaign whether he would take the voice to parliament to a referendum, Scott Morrison replied: "Why would I?"

So, why would Peter Dutton?

By Shiloh Payne

Which seats are still in doubt?

There are three remaining seats, they are:

  • Deakin
  • Gilmore
  • Macnamara

Labor only needs to secure one of these seats to form a majority government.

By Shiloh Payne

Greens' Stephen Bates wins the seat of Brisbane in the federal election

The Greens have won the seat of Brisbane, with incoming MP Stephen Bates to become the fourth Greens MP in the 47th parliament, after the party also won the seats of Griffith and Ryan, and retained the seat of Melbourne.

Absent votes counted on Saturday firmed up the 29-year-old retail worker's lead over Labor candidate Madonna Jarrett.

It is the third seat won by the Greens in the Queensland capital, and the victory means Labor is still one seat short of forming a majority government.

Mr Bates said voters were sick of the "status quo" and felt like politicians didn't make policies that actually benefited them.

"They told us they wanted to get 100 per cent publicly owned renewable energy, they wanted dental and mental health services into Medicare, and the wanted action on the housing crisis," he said.

"And it's turned into a victory for us.

"It's very surreal.

"The mood has been people are angry, people are fed up with the status quo, and fed up with the complete inaction on climate change."

By Shiloh Payne

Good morning

It's been a little more than a week since Australians voted in the federal election and Labor remains one electorate short of forming a majority government.

Three seats remain after the Greens won Brisbane on Saturday afternoon.

Incoming MP Stephen Bates says the party has a mandate to go further on climate change.

I'm Shiloh Payne and I'll be keeping you up to date today as the vote count continues.

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