Australian federal election 2025 live: Labor poised for huge Senate result; Liberal senator says road back starts with ‘deeper understanding of modern Australia’ | Australian election 2025

Dan Jervis-Bardy

The right-wing SA Liberal senator, Alex Antic, has ripped into the Coalition’s campaign in an interview on Sky News.

Antic said:

It think it simply didn’t have policy that resonated.”

Many of the policies were, in my mind, reminiscent of a mobile phone contract – you know, for the first 12 months, you’ll get something free.

I mean, in many cases, I feel very sorry for some of our excellent candidates, particularly here in South Australia, who’ve done a power of work trying to get real people back into politics.

But unfortunately, we’ve sent the troops into battle without ammunition.

Asked about the future direction of the party, Antic said the Liberal branch in SA – of which he exerts enormous influence – was a template for a nationwide revival.

He said the party must “make the Liberal Party great again”, echoing Donald Trump’s campaign slogan.

Nick Evershed

We’re not expecting much in the way of counting today as the AEC usually spends Sunday sorting and transporting ballot papers for fresh counts.

So don’t expect many updates on still undecided seats today.

However, here’s where we’re currently at with the seats projected as won by each party, and the number of seats for which the ABC has that party leading as at 10am Sunday morning:

The party leading in quite a few of the undecided seats could well change as they’re either very close or the final order of the candidates for two candidate preferred counts is uncertain, so we can’t rely on the totals too much just yet. However, Labor is on track for at least 85 seats, and the final tally could well be more.

The Greens have suffered quite a setback here too, as they currently only lead in two seats. In 2022 they won four seats, so they are looking at a loss of two seats as things stand, despite their national primary vote actually remaining steady compared with 2022.

Here’s the full list of seats we’re still waiting on more votes to be counted for before making a call: Brisbane, Calwell, Forde, Fremantle, Griffith, Longman, Menzies, Richmond, Wills, Melbourne, Ryan, Bean, Bradfield, Curtin, Fowler, Goldstein, Bullwinkel, Flinders, Forrest, La Trobe, Monash, Fadden, Cowper

Steggall is asked by Speers whether the Independents may form a bloc or party to gain more influence and clout within the parliament, and within the government.

Steggall pushes back on this noting that Speers is “repeatedly referring to who we’re backed by”.

I should note at no point do we refer to the Liberal Party as being backed by Gina Rinehart or what the funding they come from. So even when the ABC refers to Independents as Climate Change 200 backed independents, that’s inappropriate if it’s not going to be matched with other candidates.

The Independent MP is being asked about some level of coordination that clearly takes place between the various independents.

I think there’s also great power in flexibility, and so our current model works very well. We have worked very respectfully together. We’re very aligned on values. We want to see merit-based policies, we want to hold the government of the day accountable, we want scrutiny and accountability but we also want to be able to represent our communities above all.

I think there’s something a little broken with the current party system where on the Labor side, they are stuck with their rules, they cannot cross the floor and so communities will at times be very disenfranchised.

Or the Liberal Party where very few cross the floor because they face disendorsement and don’t get re-elected. So I think there is – I think the world has moved on from that traditional convention of how we see political parties now. It’s maybe time for a new model and I think that’s what community Independents offer.

Australians rejected “adversarial populism” at last night’s election, Steggall says and she “very prepared to work collaboratively, positively” with the government “in relation to every issue”.

I think that is what Australians endorsed last night. They’re saying no to that adversarial populism that we have seen from – from Peter Dutton-led Coalition, but also from the Greens on a number of issues and, in fact, it was, I think more respectful, positive community independents have held their ground or increased. And I think that’s what Australians are looking for.

The result also means the government has “no excuses to be not more ambitious” especially on its 2035 emissions targets.

They have a clear opportunity to be more ambitious on climate change, on our transition.

Steggall says the government needs to “start preparing Australia” for an increasingly climate-shocked world by “investing in our resilience”.

I have proposed a climate resilience plan. I look forward to discussing it with – if it’s Chris Bowen or whatever, or the Prime Minister, I think we have to start safeguarding Australia, protecting them from the risks ahead.

I agree with some of the comments Jim Chalmers just made – we need an innovation-driven Australia. Our economy needs to grow. We need to embrace the future.

If there’s one message that was clear last night – Australians aren’t for going backwards. We want to keep progressing and a positive future and stability, but we need to start embracing the new world. I don’t think the Liberal Party and the LNP hat the home are listening to the Australian people. They still do not have a coherent climate policy.

Zali Steggall says whether or not the Liberals will be able to reclaim the seats they have lost at some point in the future depends on when they are “capable of listening”.

I saw some grabs of Jacinta Price last night and my indication would be no.

What’s missing is they have abandoned concepts of liberalism. Where they are now is a conservative party, number two on most of their ballot-papers was One Nation followed by Trumpets.

I actually had many voters come to me offended, saying they were previously moderate Liberal voters. Absolutely no way were they, one, voting for Peter Dutton, and b, they were offended at the idea that the second preference went to One Nation.

Steggall takes aim at rightwing third-party groups

The independent MP Zali Steggall says attacks on independents during the federal election campaign were “vicious”, with a constellation of far right groups, some directed by ex-Liberals, seeking to target independent candidates.

What we saw was the growth of those third-party actor organisations. So we saw in the referendum Advance Australia who ironically started with me back in Warringah in 2019.

But they have grown in confidence and they have given way to splinter groups. You have got, you know, Jason Falinski, an ex-Liberal MP behind the Australians for Prosperity, you got Better Australia, Advance.

You got a lot of these attack fronts for the Liberal party with a lot of money from fossil fuel, it is, attacking in these communities.

Still, Steggall says the incumbent independents have been able to hang on in their seats and even expand in some some places.

Who is Ali France, the Labor candidate who has unseated Peter Dutton in Dickson?

Ali France, the Labor candidate who is the first person to unseat an opposition leader at an election, is a disability advocate, former journalist and world champion para-athlete.

She has defeated the Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, at her third effort at the seat of Dickson, in Brisbane’s west.

For the past 24 years, it has been held by Dutton, now the leader of the Liberal party and opposition leader. She is the daughter of former Labor Queensland MP Peter Lawlor.

France lost her eldest son, Henry, to leukaemia last year. She has another son, Zac, who was with her when she was involved in an accident that led to her losing a leg in 2011.

Kallangur Memorial Bowls Club was packed with scores of supporters – including state opposition leader and former premier Steven Miles, a longtime supporter. The raucous crowd cheered as she delivered an acknowledgement of country at the start of her 18 minute victory speech – Dutton, a conservative, had opposed the 2023 referendum on a voice to parliament and described acknowledgments as “overdone” during the campaign.

For more on this story, read the full report by the Guardian Australia’s Andrew Messenger:

Keith Wolahan declines to weigh in on leadership speculation after this devastating loss, saying “that’s not a choice for me”, but a decision for the party room.

Wolahan waves off a question implying that his name may be on the list for the future leadership of the party:

Because of where I’m at with my seat, it’d be no surprise I’m not on any of those phone calls right now. But we’ll see how the count goes. Again, I respect all of those names, and there may be others that aren’t on the list. I’m not going to inject myself into that discussion.

He is also asked about his plans if he loses his seat, specifically whether he will come back in three years time. He says he plan to spend the rest of the day with his daughter for her birthday and “then we’ll rebuild and regroup”.

I always thought my first task was to hold my seat, and it looks like I won’t. And that’s on me. I take full responsibility for that. I don’t blame anyone else. That is for me. But I am grateful for the opportunity that was given to me. But I’m still a youngish man, and I love the Liberal party. I believe it is a force for good in Victoria and this nation. And I will always be loyal to it and be there to help it.

Asked to characterise the campaign Peter Dutton ran, Wolahan says the result means “you have to acknowledge things went wrong” but that he is “not going to pick that apart here on the Sunday afterwards – that’s for the review”.

Asked whether Peter Dutton himself is a problem, Wolahan says he “greatly admires” the opposition leader, describing him as a “patriot” for “his service to our country.”

I’m not going to criticise Peter on this – my heart breaks for him and his family and, again, I thank him for his service as a leader of our party. And let’s not forget where we were through this term. There were periods where there was great successes. And that’s down to Peter and his leadership. But again, all of this will come through in the review.

This appears to be an allusion to the referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament, an issue that Wolahan had long taken a personal interest in and sought to defeat.

Wolahan also says he “won’t dissect the particular policies”, but says that the result can be attributed to people looking for “predictability again” with the return of US president Donald Trump.

If you’re putting policies to the electorate in the final few weeks of the campaign, they feel like it’s unpredictable. So if we are true to our values and we prosecute the case early. And some of the things we need to prosecute: how do we address debt? How do we address productivity in this country?

If we do that in a constructive way and early, run the case, run the arguments, I think then Australians will trust us that we may be given the authority to be in government one day. But we have to earn that back again.

Wolahan is now being taken through a series of Coalition policies they took to the election, including nuclear power.

It wouldn’t be fair on me to dissect that particular policy, but everything should be on the table, and that should be analysed. Again, whether it’s through focus groups, internal discussions, and talking with experts. But we have to listen to Australians. They have sent us a message. And our first task is to hear it. And that often takes time.

A core constituency within the Coalition embraced nuclear power partly after conservative parties in Ontario, Canada organised around the industry to cement what they called a “blue-blue alliance” – an alliance between conservative parties and blue collar working class unions.

That strategy clearly did not apply well to Australia as there is no existing nuclear power industry to draw upon.

Liberal MP says party has trouble connecting with voters in cities

Wolahan says the Coalition needs to seriously think about it engages with constituencies in the city. He says professional people, particularly professional women, younger people and “multicultural Australians”, have turned off the party, along with those “who don’t have a memory of the Howard-Costello era”.

The specifics of those – I’m going to leave for the review. The are view can’t just be any other review. It’s going to have to be a serious review that takes time, and hopefully there will be many chapters. Hopefully, it’s a review that’s not just put on the shelf but is read again and again and again.

Wolahan, however, acknowledged that a lack of metropolitan members in the party room is making it more difficult for the Coalition to speak to the cities at election time.

We need to get out of the country and come to Melbourne. If I’m there, I will help them try and solve this problem so that we can provide a vision of hope for the country.

Because I think, as a party, we’re very nostalgic. We look back to our heroes, whether it’s Menzies or Howard or Costello, and that’s great. But I think we need more than the rear-view mirror. I think we need to look through the windscreen and say, “This country’s best days are ahead of it.”

And we can be a force for good, about aspiration, opportunity and hope. If we do that, again, I think the Liberal party has a bright future.

Liberal MP says party needs to ‘think about who we are and who we fight for’

It is “more likely than not” Keith Wolahan will lose his seat, the incumbent Liberal MP for Menzies says, but he is not willing to concede deceit “just yet”.

Speaking to ABC Insiders, Wolahan also said it was his daughter’s birthday, and he took the chance to wish her happy birthday on national television. Which is nice.

Happy birthday, Eva.

Turning to politics, he says he is confident the “party will rebuild and our future a bright one”.

When asked to diagnose the problem, Wolahan says the “party has an issue in urban Australia, which is where most people live”.

So we need to turn our mind to that like we have never done before. We need to really dig deep and think about who we are and who we fight for and who makes up Australia.

Labor poised for big Senate result, while deputy Nationals leader could lose seat

Dan Jervis-Bardy

It always slips under the radar on election night but the Senate results are crucial to how the next parliament functions.

As we sift through the results, it looks like another huge result for Labor while the Nationals deputy leader is poised to lose her seat.

Here’s the state of play in each state and territory according to the ABC count.

• In New South Wales, Labor is on track to win three seats. The Coalition is polling just under two quotas, which will likely cost the Nationals’ deputy leader, Perin Davey, her spot in the upper house.

• In Victoria, Labor could also snare three spots, including one for Michelle Ananda-Rajah, who ran for the Senate after her Melbourne seat of Higgins was abolished.

• Labor could also pick up three seats in each of WA and South Australia. A sharp drop in the Liberal vote in SA is poised to cost senator David Fawcett his seat.

• In Queensland, Labor and the Coalition are set to win a couple of seats each with Greens and One Nation poised to retain their spots.

• A similar scenario is unfolding in Tasmania. Labor will win two seats while the Liberals are set to retain their two spots despite a massive swing against the party in the Apple Isle. The Greens will hold their seat while Jacqui Lambie is ahead in the race for the sixth spot.

• It is status-quo in the ACT, although independent David Pocock has been elected ahead of the Labor finance minister, Katy Gallagher.

• Labor and the Country Liberals are set to win one seat each in the NT.

So, what does it all mean?

If Labor wins all of the seats in which it is ahead in the count it could end up with 30 upper house seats – nine short of absolute majority.

That would mean Labor would only need the support of the Greens to pass legislation which the Coalition opposes, allowing it to bypass crossbenchers such as Pocock and Lambie.

Chalmers says “there can never been too many Queenslanders” noting the number of new Labor MPs who will join the party in parliament, and particularly the large number of women.

Previously, Chalmers said, Anika Wells had been a lone voice from the state but will now be joined by seven.

We’ve been long on influence but short on numbers. I’m a Queenslander, and I think that most the Cabinet should be Queenslanders – that’s just how we’re born and raised.

Meanwhile, Chalmers says Anthony Albanese is now a Labor hero and that he expects the Prime Minister to serve a full term and run again.