by Cam Lucadou-Wells and Corey Everitt
Federal Labor has resoundingly held its South East seats with massive swings in Bruce, Holt, Hotham and Isaacs as it stormed to re-election with an increased majority.
La Trobe MP Jason Wood may be the only federal Liberal left in Melbourne, blaming US President Donald Trump and a “dumb” working-from-home policy for the electoral backlash.
Amid the carnage, even Wood was only holding onto his seat by a bare 0.5 per cent margin over ALP’s Jeff Springfield – after half of the vote count.
Cheers erupted at Isaacs Labor MP Mark Dreyfus’s euphoric party at Moordialloc as the ABC announced Opposition Leader Peter Dutton had lost his seat.
With half of the vote counted, Dreyfus looked to have secured 49 per cent of the primaries, nearly an absolute majority.
His two-party preferred margin soared from 9.5 per cent to 15 per cent.
“It’s a fantastic night. A wonderful night for Labor,” the federal Attorney-General said.
“We’re on track for a majority. Now we’re waiting to find out the scale of the victory.”
The voters had “rejected the fear and hatred and division of Peter Dutton”, and “embraced (Prime Minister) Anthony Albanese’s vision for a fairer Australia”.
“It’s a great result for the country. I’m delighted to work with Anthony Albanese in building Australia’s future.”
Meanwhile in Bruce, which was notionally marginal, Labor MP Julian Hill has been re-elected with an emphatic 12 per cent swing over his embattled Liberal rival Zahid Safi.
Safi’s heavily resourced campaign was plagued with controversies, such as questions over his record as an NDIS provider.
After a highly scrutinized contest, Hill said it was an “incredibly humbling result”.
“I’m really proud of the hundreds of volunteers who worked day in and day out and conducted themselves with decency and integrity.
“Politics is a vocation, not a job and I take the responsibility for the community and the country very seriously. I couldn’t work harder and I’ll continue to do so.”
The rejection of “American-style negative, divisive politics matters enormously for our community”, he said.
“There was not a single coherent, costed policy (from the Coalition) put out or idea to make the country or community better.”
Voters backed a Government “focused on cost of living, on the health system and the issues that matter most”.
“And whilst not perfect of course, was having a real crack at making life better with positive plans for the next term.”
Meanwhile, the Liberals’ Jason Wood is in a surprisingly tight fight to retain his seat, having suffered about an 8 per cent swing.
He said the Trump Presidency and the policy of reigning in working from home were damaging to the Liberal’s campaign.
“When Trump came to power, we thought it could lead to a Coalition, we didn’t know it would actually end up being a wrecking ball,” he said.
“I’m not saying we ran a great campaign, we didn’t, but that really hurt.
“Our policy on working from home was one of the dumbest policies ever and that really hurt.”
When asked about Bruce candidate Safi’s heavy defeat, he said: “I never kick a person when they are down, that is my view, and he has given it the best he could.
“I don’t think we have any candidates that are up at the moment.”
Labor Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has retained her safe seat in Hotham with about a 7 per cent swing.
Similarly, Holt Labor MP Cassandra Fernando was returned with a 9 per cent swing.
Monash University political expert Dr Zareh Ghazarian described it as an “extraordinary win for Labor and a disastrous result for the Coalition”.
He said the Liberal party was not resonating with a South East region of voters that once supported it.
“I don’t think it was the campaign that was the party’s downfall, it was the past three years and what the party wants to stand for.
“That’s where it appears a bit confused. We saw hints of that in the campaign with the working-at-home policy being aired and retracted.”
Dr Ghazarian said it was a “big result” for a Government that looked “on the ropes” earlier this year and now was looking at a 10-seat plus majority.
He said voters went for a “steady hand on the levers of power” but downplayed the President Donald Trump effect – which appeared to stymie Conservatives in the recent Canadian election.
“I think the Liberal Party wasn’t able to convey that same sort of stability as Labor.”
