Australia’s Center-Right Government Secures 76 Seats for Majority

Prime Minister of Australia and leader of the Liberal Party Scott Morrison, flanked by his wife Jenny Morrison and daughters Lily Morrison and Abbey Morrison, delivers his victory speech at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth in Sydney, Australia on May 18, 2019. Prime Minister Scott Morrison was re-elected today, securing another three-year team for the Liberal-National coalition following an intense five-week campaign against Bill Shorten and the Labor party. (Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images)

The latest Australian Electoral Commission figures for the federal election show the coalition on track to hold 78 seats in the 151-seat lower house.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will have the 76 seats he needs to govern in majority, but could have up to two more.

The Australian Electoral Commission took the Victorian seat of Chisholm off the “close seats” list on Tuesday afternoon, as Liberal candidate Gladys Liu gained ground.

She now holds 50.6 per cent of the vote, ahead of Labor’s Jennifer Yang, as postal vote counting continues.

If the current count trends continue, the center-right Liberal-National coalition will have 78 seats, with the center-left Australian Labor Party on 67 and six crossbenchers.

There are now only two close seats listed on the AEC website.

The Liberals’ Sarah Richards is ahead of Labor MP Susan Templeman in Macquarie, with the AEC website showing there were just 50 votes separating the pair.

In Bass, the Liberals’ Bridget Archer sits on 50.3 per cent of the two-party vote, ahead of incumbent Labor MP Ross Hart.

Postal votes are being counted in all 151 seats.

The election writ must be returned by June 28.

In the previous parliament, the numbers were: Liberals 58, Nationals 16, Labor 69, Greens 1, Centre Alliance 1, Katter’s Australian Party 1, independents 4.

By Paul Osborne