Jacqui Lambie of the Palmer United Party (PUP) has won a Senate seat in Tasmania, following the full distribution of preferences by the Australian Electoral Commission.
It is the first confirmed Senate seat for Clive Palmer’s party. Glenn Lazarus seems certain to be elected to the Senate from Queensland and Zhenya Wang is still in the running in Western Australia. Clive Palmer is 39 votes ahead in the Queensland House of Representatives electorate of Fairfax. A recount in Fairfax is underway this week.
The election of two, and possibly three, PUP senators ensures that Clive Palmer is one of the big winners in the 2013 election. When the new senators take their seats next July, a crossbench of seven or eight minor party members and independents will hold the balance of power.
Lambie, a former Army corporal, won the final Tasmanian position by 15,000 votes, ahead of the Liberal Party’s Sally Chandler and the Sex Party’s Robbie Swan. PUP polled 22,184 primary votes, or 6.58%. As in other states, a complex web of preference deals ensured Lambie’s election.
The final result in Tasmania is 2 Liberals (Richard Colbeck and David Bushby), 2 Labor (Carol Brown and Catryna Bilyk), 1 Green (Peter Whish-Wilson) and 1 Palmer United Party (Jacqui Lambie).
The ALP’s Senator Lin Thorp is the only sitting senator to have been defeated. She filled a casual vacancy to replace Nick Sherry in 2012. She was previously a member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council.
The AEC also confirmed today that Nova Peris has won a Northern Territory Senate seat for the ALP. She replaces Senator Trish Crossin who held the seat for 15 years until former Prime Minister Julia Gillard made her “captain’s pick” and nominated Peris last January.
The other Northern Territory seat has been won by the Country Liberal Party’s Senator Nigel Scullion who was first elected in 2001. Scullion is also the Leader of The Nationals in the Senate.
Media release from the Australian Electoral Commission.
The Australian Electoral Commission has announced the count for the election of six Senators for Tasmania was completed today.
The successful candidates for the six Senate vacancies for Tasmania are (in order of their election):
- Richard COLBECK – Liberal
- Carol BROWN – Australian Labor Party
- David BUSHBY – Liberal
- Catryna BILYK – Australian Labor Party
- Peter WHISH-WILSON – Australian Greens
- Jacqui LAMBIE – Palmer United Party
The State Manager for Tasmania, Sandra Riordan, said the Senate count had involved the keying-in of votes into a computerised system, and today an automated process was used to distribute preferences and determine the six elected candidates.
“As with all aspects of the count, the automated distribution of preferences undertaken today was open to scrutineers appointed by the candidates,” Ms Riordan said.
“Approximately 90% per cent of voters cast their ballot above-the-line on the Senate ballot paper while 10% per cent voted below the line,” she said.
The successful candidates will be formally declared at 2:00pm on Thursday 26 September 2013 at 2nd Floor NAB House, 86 Collins Street, Hobart. All candidates, members of the media and the public are welcome to attend.
