Labor MP Brian Mitchell has won the Tasmanian seat in Lyon, according to ABC chief election analyst Antony Green, bringing the total number of federal Labor seats to 75, one less than the majority.
Key points:
- A possible counting error was detected two days ago in one of the pre-survey centers
- The correction caused a big enough change in the votes for Antony Green to ask for the seat
- The seat initially stood out for having an unusually large swing against Labor
With the count surpassing the 80 percent mark, Mitchell leads the Liberal Party with 50.9 percent of the vote for Susie Bower.
Mr Mitchell’s margin is narrower than in the 2019 federal election, with the incumbent MP causing controversy this time with historic posts on social media.
He had previously occupied the seat with a margin of 5.2%, but on Saturday there was a change to the Liberal Party after the preferences.
Announcing the result, Green said: “We have just given away Lyon, which is the great central seat of central Tasmania.
“Two days ago it was detected that there was a possible counting error in one of the pre – survey centers.
“All counting centers are counted twice. This was an initial count. It looked like a mistake, they checked again.
“There has been a mistake, it has been corrected and it has caused the big change of vote enough to say that Labor has won the seat.”
Follow all post-election actions while the counting continues
Green said it initially looked like the seat saw an unusually large swing against Labor, but once the error was found, it was reduced to a normal figure.
“So they (Labor) need one for a simple majority government,” he said.
“At this stage we are waiting for what is to come.”
The victory of Labor in Lyon means that the five incumbent Tasmanian MPs have been returned to parliament, avoiding a change of seat.
Election news:
Mitchell was elected a member of Lyon in 2016 and was re-elected in 2019 after the Liberal-backed candidate who opposed him left the party due to controversial posts on social media.
Mitchell himself caused a stir this election campaign with his own historical posts on social media, including a 2011 post on female incontinence.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese said during the campaign that the post “was not appropriate”.
Mitchell also apologized for other historical comments he made online, including one about a colleague who “massages her breasts.”
The charges came before Mitchell was elected to parliament.
Mitchell, a former journalist and newspaper editor, described an ABC journalist as “maggot” in 2017.
Mitchell apologized this year and deleted the comments.
“I acknowledge that some of my previous comments have been insensitive,” he said.
“I shouldn’t have done that and I apologize. Now I’ve deleted the comments.”
Mitchell’s election means Labor has 75 seats in parliament, one less than a majority, but there are still four seats in question.
Work is currently underway at Macnamara’s Victorian headquarters.
Electoral basics:
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Posted 3 hours ago 3 hours ago Thu, May 26, 2022 at 4:43 am, updated 51 m ago, 51 minutes ago, Thu, May 26, 2022 at 7:03 AM