Prime Minister Scott Morrison is holding out hope Dave Sharma could still snatch a win for the government in the Wentworth by-election.
High-profile independent Kerryn Phelps on Saturday night was on track to defeat Liberal candidate Dave Sharma in the by-election to replace Malcolm Turnbull.
But on Sunday that changed with the margin between the two narrowed to less than 900 votes with postal and pre-poll ballots being counted.
Mr Morrison told a press conference in Sydney on Sunday there were many votes still to be counted.
“We will just simply wait for that normal, robust, democratic, credible process to follow its course before we are in a position to know who the successful candidate will be at that by-election,” Mr Morrison he said.
But he again conceded the electorate had vented its anger at the government for the by-election caused when Malcolm Turnbull quit parliament after being rolled as prime minister.
“The event of two months ago angered and outraged many Liberals and particularly those in the seat of Wentworth. That’s on us, the parliamentary Liberal Party.”
However, if officially declared the winner, Kerryn Phelps says her first mission is to get refugee kids off Nauru,
Phelps, who looks set to take the seat made vacant following former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s resignation, told Weekend Today she would stick to her campaign promises.
“The things I was talking about during the campaign are really important – the big issues of national importance,” she said this morning.
“For example getting kids off Nauru. That’s first order of business. I don’t think the Australian people can tolerate that position any longer.”
The 60-year-old’s win looks set to cause a hung parliament with the coalition holding just 75 seats in the House of Representatives.
It’s the biggest by-election loss in Australian history.
Phelps, who works as a GP, said she would “support good legislation. I would reject bad legislation.”
Action on climate change is another of her policies.
The 20 percent swing away from Liberal in the eastern suburbs of Sydney is historic.
It’s the first time the sway has changed in 100 years.
When Dr Phelps takes up her seat, there will be a crossbench of six members in the lower house, with Labor holding 69 seats.
But she has all but ruled out helping force an early election or supporting a no-confidence motion in the government.
“I’ve certainly said that the government and all governments should go full term unless there are exceptional circumstances, and the next election is due in May next year, and that’s time enough,” Dr Phelps told ABC TV.
The Labor opposition is also unlikely to test the now-minority Morrison government on the floor of parliament.
Instead, it would prefer Prime Minister Scott Morrison call a general election.
“He has actually spent this whole campaign arguing that if we got the result we got last night it would cause instability in people’s lives and in the economy,” manager of opposition business Tony Burke told ABC Insiders on Sunday.
“Now, I don’t see how he can argue that and not then say that we have to have an election.”
Mr Burke signalled Labor would be unlikely to put forward a no-confidence motion in the government, which would need 76 votes to succeed.
“We want to see a Shorten Labor government be elected at a general election. That’s what we want to see,” he said.
Mr Burke said the coalition government had shown many times “they are incapable of governing, even with a majority. Now we have a hung parliament.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he didn’t blame candidate Dave Sharma for not winning.
“What has happened here in Wentworth is not unexpected. Liberals are angry. And they’ve expressed that,” he said.
“Now, I don’t see how he can argue that and not then say that we have to have an election.”
Mr Burke signalled Labor would be unlikely to put forward a no-confidence motion in the government, which would need 76 votes to succeed.
“We want to see a Shorten Labor government be elected at a general election. That’s what we want to see,” he said.
Mr Burke said the coalition government had shown many times “they are incapable of governing, even with a majority. Now we have a hung parliament.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he didn’t blame candidate Dave Sharma for not winning.
“What has happened here in Wentworth is not unexpected. Liberals are angry. And they’ve expressed that,” he said.
“I want to make something really clear. The result is on us, the Liberals not on Dave Sharma.”
Meanwhile, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the government will continue to seek assurances from crossbenchers to hold off the threat of an early election.
“We’ve already had very constructive discussions with some of the crossbenchers and a number of them have made it very clear that they want the government to run its full term,” Mr Frydenberg told Sky News this morning.
