Rob Oakeshott | AustralianPolitics.com

Turnbull Likely To Win Narrowly As Voters Punish Coalition; ALP Secures Nationwide Swing Of 3.18% But Falls Short

July 3, 2016

Hung Parliament Still Possible; Many Close Seats; Nationwide Swing Delivers ALP Gains; Xenophon Wins Lower House Seat; Pauline Hanson, Derryn Hinch And Jacqui Lambie Elected To Senate

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull addressed Liberal supporters in Sydney last night

The Turnbull coalition government is clinging to office, following yesterday’s federal election, and may yet face a hung parliament controlled by crossbenchers not necessarily sympathetic to it. In a post-midnight speech, the Prime Minister insisted the coalition would be able to form a majority government.

A nationwide 3.18% swing towards the ALP sees the coalition leading the two-party-preferred vote with 50.01%. Every state and territory swung to the ALP, the Northern Territory leading the field with 7.37% and delivering Solomon to the ALP. The smallest swing was 0.68% in the Australian Capital Territory, where the ALP already held both seats and polled 61.73% of the two-party vote.

There was a 3.64% swing to the ALP in New South Wales. The ALP has won Banks, Barton, Dobell, Eden-Monaro, Lindsay, Macarthur, Macquarie and Paterson.

In Victoria, the swing was 2.13% but it appears that only one seat has changed hands. The ALP lost Chisholm, the eastern suburban Melbourne electorate held since 1998 by the former Speaker, Anna Burke. The Greens came close to winning Batman and counting may yet throw Melbourne Ports into doubt for the ALP.

In Queensland, a swing of 2.75% delivered Longman to the ALP and ended the two-term career of 26-year-old Wyatt Roy. The LNP electorates of Capricornia, Forde and Petrie are too close to call. Hinkler may also be in play.

In Western Australia, a 3.82% swing has delivered the new electorate of Burt to the ALP, giving it 4 of the 16 seats.

Tasmania swung decisively by 6.33% to the ALP and it picked up 3 seats lost in 2013: Bass, Braddon and Lyons.

In South Australia, a swing of 4.44% saw two seats change hands. The ALP’s Steve Georganas regained Hindmarsh, which he lost in 2013. The Liberal Party lost the seat of Mayo to the Nick Xenophon Team. NXT may yet have a chance of taking the large country electorate of Grey.

A range of commentators last night agreed that the coalition would likely be able to form a government with 76-78 seats. The large number of close results means that it will be up to ten days before the results are clear.

Triumphant Shorten Says The ALP Is Back; Turnbull Delivers Late-Night Off-Key Speech To Supporters

The closeness of the count delayed the appearance of the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader. Shorten appeared first, after 11pm. He told supporters in Melbourne that the ALP was “back”. He reiterated his campaign themes and said that the ALP would save Medicare “in government or opposition”.

Malcolm Turnbull spoke to Liberal supporters at 12.30am, delivering a speech widely panned as off-key and inappropriate. Turnbull spoke at length about thuggery in the construction industry and defended his decision to call the double dissolution. He insisted that the coalition would be able to form a majority government.

Watch Shorten’s speech (11m)
Listen to Shorten (11m)
Watch Turnbull’s speech (16m)
Listen to Turnbull (16m)

Windsor and Oakeshott Defeated; Existing Crossbenchers Re-Elected

Tony Windsor, the former member for New England, failed to defeat Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce. Windsor polled 29.73% but Joyce won the seat outright with a primary vote of 52.09%.

ALP – Cowper (NSW) How-To-Vote Card

June 12, 2016

This is the first how-to-vote card I’ve seen for this year’s election: the ALP’s card for the NSW electorate of Cowper.

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE

Cowper is a safe coalition electorate. Since 1901, it has only been held by the ALP once, between 1961 and 1963. The current Nationals member, Luke Hartsuyker, has held the seat since 2001.

Hartsuyker won the seat in 2013 with 53.05% of the primary vote. The ALP polled 25.37% and the Greens 12.37%.

Rob Oakeshott (Ind – Lyne) – Valedictory Speech

June 27, 2013

Rob Oakeshott was the independent member for Lyne for five years from 2008 until 2013.

Oakeshott

Oakeshott was previously a Nationals and an independent member of the NSW Legislative Assembly. He won Lyne at a by-election in September 2008, following the retirement of the former Nationals leader, Mark Vaile.

When Will The 2013 Federal Election Be Held?

January 2, 2013

What do we definitely know about this year’s election?

A House of Representatives election can be called at any time. Provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act require a minimum of 33 days notice. A January election is now impossible. No federal election has ever been held in January or February. Given the holiday period underway now, an early March election is probably the earliest possible date.
A double dissolution is now constitutionally impossible. No legislation has been twice rejected by the Senate with the requisite three-month interval. The option formally expires on March 27.
A half-Senate election cannot be called until after July 1. See Section 13 of the Constitution. A House-only election held between February-June 2013 would require a separate half-Senate election sometime before June 30, 2014. A Gillard or Abbott government would be forced back to the polls within a year of any House election held before June 2013.
The earliest possible date for a joint House of Representatives and half-Senate election is August 3.
A House election can be held as late as November 30, if every requirement of the Constitution and Electoral Act is stretched to the maximum allowable time.
The House of Representatives will expire on September 27 if it hasn’t already been dissolved. This is because the three year term of the House dates from the first day the parliament met – September 28, 2010. If the House expired on September 27, the writs for the election would have to be issued within 10 days.
Antony Green has written a couple of informative pieces about the historical timing of elections and the constitutional and legislative requirements. See here and here.

Is an election in March, April, May or June entirely out of the question?

No. An upturn in the government’s fortunes could encourage Gillard to go early to capitalise on favourable conditions. In this event, the half-Senate problem would probably be lost in the general melee of an election. Besides, the Opposition has been demanding an early poll for most of the past two years.
There have been suggestions the government might go early to avoid bringing down a May budget. This seems less likely since Wayne Swan announced that the government has all but abandoned its budget surplus promise. It is just as likely that the government will aim to use the Budget to establish its priorities for the election campaign and to engage in some electorally strategic spending initiatives.

Is a March-June election likely?

No. As is well known, the government is not travelling well in the polls. In these circumstances governments do not go early. They hang in until the last possible moment in the hope that the Opposition will stumble or that something else turns up to rescue them. John Howard did this in 2007. Members facing defeat don’t want to go any earlier than they absolutely have to for political and possibly financial reasons.

Rob Oakeshott Responds To Gerard Henderson On Minority Government

December 19, 2012

Rob Oakeshott has shot back at Sydney Morning Herald columnist Gerard Henderson over his comments on minority government.

Oakeshott The member for Lyne, one of the rural independents whose support is crucial to the survival of Julia Gillard’s minority Labor government, was responding to yesterday’s column by Henderson which argued that “the Australian body politic is clearly afflicted by the minority obsession”.

Henderson claimed: “For more than two years, a number of poor political decisions and misjudged statements can be directly attributed to the minority obsession’s prevalence. Most recently, some of the assessments of the Federal Court in Ashby v Commonwealth of Australia.”

In his response, Oakeshott said “the dreamers for majority” had failed to adjust to the “new normal” of multi-party democracy. Oakeshott defended his decision to support a minority Labor government, even when “the ALP has gone missing on some key items agreed to”.

He wrote: “Better education and health polices, a market-based emissions trading scheme being implemented, a rate of return and equity being delivered through a national broadband strategy, progress on bi-partisan recognition of Australia’s 40,000-year-old history in our Constitution, and the starting elements of tax reform, are all positive reasons why I did what I did, and why I stand by it.”

This article appeared on the website of the member for Lyne, Rob Oakeshott.

A FOOLISH SUMMATION OF MULTI-PARTY DEMOCRACY

Mr Gerard Henderson yesterday continued his convenient and ongoing obsession with minority government, and his attacks on colleague Tony Windsor and I in particular (Minority rule makes fools of both sides of the house). The executive director of the conservative Australian current affairs forum has never spoken to me, or to my knowledge to Mr Windsor, so his “insight” into the events leading up to the incumbent government securing a working majority is exposed and needs correcting.

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