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| Labor claims victory in Griffith despite minor swing against party | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Labor is poised to retain Kevin Rudd’s former Brisbane seat of Griffith, suffering a minor swing against in a byelection that loomed as an early electoral test for the Abbott government. | |
| The Liberal National Party candidate Bill Glasson refused to concede defeat on Saturday night, but admitted it would be “difficult” to win based on the results so far. The Coalition played down the likely loss, saying it was rare for governments to gain swings in a byelection. | |
| Labor’s candidate, the employment lawyer, Terri Butler, attracted 52.33% of the vote after preferences, with 65.3% of the vote counted. That represents a swing away from the ALP of 0.68%, meaning the LNP has fallen short of the 3% required for victory. | |
| Glasson, a former president of the Australian Medical Association, reduced Labor’s margin by 5.5% when he ran against Rudd last September, and went into Saturday’s byelection requiring a further 3% swing to win. The byelection was triggered by Rudd’s resignation from parliament in the wake of Labor’s national defeat last year. | |
| The ABC’s election analyst, Antony Green, said Labor “definitely” would win the seat. | |
| Addressing | |
| jubilant supporters, Butler said the result was a strong message to the | |
| prime minister, Tony Abbott, and the Queensland premier, Campbell | |
| Newman, that “you cannot cut your way to a better Australia”. | |
| “We’ve | |
| told them our communities are sick of the LNP’s cuts,” Butler said. “We | |
| have said to Tony Abbott hands off Medicare … and we have demanded the | |
| funding our schools need.” | |
| Butler | |
| said she was grateful for the honour of representing Griffith and would | |
| not let voters down. Rudd was among the audience at the victory party. | |
| Butler paid tribute to Rudd as a “fantastic local member” and thanked | |
| the federal opposition leader, Bill Shorten, for spending so much time | |
| on the campaign trail supporting her efforts. | |
| Butler – who was characterised as a “Labor union lawyer” in LNP campaign | |
| material – said she was proud of her work with Maurice Blackburn. “I | |
| know there was a smear campaign against me but I’m proud of representing | |
| working families. I’ll always be proud of representing working | |
| families.” | |
| Glasson | Glasson |
| made a speech to LNP supporters in which he said it would be difficult | |
| to win the seat, but would not concede defeat on Saturday night. He said | |
| he expected the numbers to narrow. | |
| Glasson | |
| said he had run for election because he wanted to improve people’s | |
| lives. He saw that the carbon tax was hurting families and businesses. | |
| “I | |
| still say to Mr Shorten, please, please consider supporting the | |
| abolition of the carbon tax,” Glasson said in his speech on Saturday | |
| night. | |
| The | |
| federal director of the Liberal Party, Brian Loughnane, alluded to the | |
| swing to the LNP by tweeting that the result was a “great effort by Bill | |
| Glasson” and a “clear rejection of Labor and Bill Shorten’s scare | |
| campaign”. | |
| Glasson | |
| attracted 42.52% of primary votes, ahead of Butler (39.57%), but | attracted 42.52% of primary votes, ahead of Butler (39.57%), but |
| preference flows are likely to ensure Labor retains the seat. The Greens | preference flows are likely to ensure Labor retains the seat. The Greens |
| candidate Geoff Ebbs secured a primary vote of 10.48% while Pirate | candidate Geoff Ebbs secured a primary vote of 10.48% while Pirate |
| Party Australia’s Melanie Thomas polled fourth in an 11-candidate race | Party Australia’s Melanie Thomas polled fourth in an 11-candidate race |
| on 1.63% - beating out the Katter’s Australian Party’s 1.02% (with about | on 1.63% - beating out the Katter’s Australian Party’s 1.02% (with about |
| two-thirds of primary votes counted). | two-thirds of primary votes counted). |
| The byelection is the first electoral test for the Abbott government since the election last September. Glasson faced a tough battle: it has been nearly 100 years since a government has seized a seat from an opposition at a federal byelection. But it is also rare for a first-term government to secure a favourable swing at a byelection. | |
| Butler, | Butler, |
| an employment lawyer, focused on linking Glasson to budget cuts pursued | an employment lawyer, focused on linking Glasson to budget cuts pursued |
| by the prime minister, Tony Abbott, and the Queensland premier, | by the prime minister, Tony Abbott, and the Queensland premier, |
| Campbell Newman. On Saturday she said voters should use the byelection | Campbell Newman. On Saturday she said voters should use the byelection |
| to “send a message to Mr Abbott about the government we deserve”. | to “send a message to Mr Abbott about the government we deserve”. |
| Glasson, | Glasson, |
| whose campaign stressed his ability to be a strong and influential | whose campaign stressed his ability to be a strong and influential |
| local member, spoke to reporters before polls closed on Saturday. “I | local member, spoke to reporters before polls closed on Saturday. “I |
| feel a bit like Black Caviar, an outside draw, a heavy track, but like | feel a bit like Black Caviar, an outside draw, a heavy track, but like |
| Black Caviar I feel I’ve got a big heart, a big heart for the people of | Black Caviar I feel I’ve got a big heart, a big heart for the people of |
| Griffith,” he said. | Griffith,” he said. |
| More to come... | More to come... |