Malcolm Turnbull has said he is “very confident” of achieving a majority as the Coalition becomes the firm favourite to form government.
The latest count shows the Coalition winning 70 seats, leading in four more and retaining a chance of being able to pick off a few more Labor leads to reach a 76-seat majority.
According to Guardian Australia’s analysis, the Coalition will win at least 70 seats, after calling Dunkley in Victoria and Grey in South Australia for the Liberals. In Grey, the Liberal Rowan Ramsey leads the Nick Xenophon Team’s Andrew Broadfoot by 5,060 votes.
Guardian Australia has called Melbourne Ports for Labor, with Michael Danby ahead of the Greens by 1,551 votes and then holding a lead of 3,087 against the Liberal candidate after Greens preferences are distributed.
Labor will win at least 66 seats, and independents or minor parties will get five seats. In the nine seats not yet called, the Coalition is ahead in Chisholm, Cowper, Gilmore and Forde, which would take its count to 74.
To win a majority, the Coalition would need to win two more of the remaining five contests where Labor leads have narrowed after counting of postal and absentee votes:
- Herbert (Qld), where Labor is ahead by 620 votes
- Hindmarsh (Vic), where Labor is ahead by 151 votes
- Flynn (Qld), where Labor is ahead by 1,065
- Capricornia (Qld), where Labor is ahead by 732 votes
- Cowan (WA), where Labor is ahead by 722 votes
Appearing in Brisbane with the new MP for Brisbane, Trevor Evans, Turnbull said he was “very confident indeed that we will form government, we will form a majority government in our own right”.
“I am, of course, talking to the crossbenchers as well, as I would do regardless of what our own numbers in the [lower] house amounted to. But the people have spoken, their votes are being counted and we await the conclusion of that counting process.”
On Wednesday, Turnbull met Nick Xenophon, whose party holds a seat in the lower house, and on Thursday will meet the lower house crossbencher Bob Katter in Brisbane.
Turnbull thanked the Liberal team and the volunteers in Brisbane: “I want to salute you for your commitment and your support and you’ve made it happen. Trevor’s achievement will be one of the real hallmarks of this election.”
Labor’s candidate in Hindmarsh, Steve Georganas, told the ABC: “I think we may go down a little bit more while we count postals and then turning it around with the absentees.”
He estimated there were 5,000 absentee votes and about 2,500 postal votes yet to be counted. “But look, it’s on a knife edge and whoever wins it will win it by a handful of votes.”
