ELECTION 2016: Winners and losers emerge on the morning after
Shocks and surprises are emerging from the debris of last night, while voting remains in a stalemate until Tuesday.
Whether Malcolm Turnbull or Bill Shorten wins the 76 seats needed to form government, they will need to negotiate with a very mixed bag of independents in the Senate - three of which have already made their voices heard this morning. A fourth looks likely to be One Nation's Pauline Hanson.
Senator Nick Xenophon was on track last night to pick up three South Australian seats in the upper house, while Jacqui Lambie will hold her Tasmanian seat and could bring another candidate with her.
Broadcaster Derryn Hinch looks to have won a Victorian Senate seat, while Ms Hanson will likely take a Queensland Senate seat, possibly two or a lower house seat.
Speaking on Sunrise this morning, Lambie, Xenophon, and Hinch declared they were going to be "best friends".
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Mr Xenophon said he was hoping to secure three seats. "Some of my candidates are still in with a chance," he said.
Mr Xenophon said he was looking forward to "working with his counterparts".
"Give me a call, Jacqui," he quipped towards the end of the interview. "Jacqie, we work well together and will continue to do so."
When asked about her thoughts on Pauline Hanson's success, Ms Lambie said, "She's the last person on my mind at this stage."
Mr Xenophon was more diplomatic on the subject. "I disagree with some of her views on immigration," he said. "But I will do my best to engage with her constructively."
Mr Hinch said he had "no idea" how the next three years would play out.
Mr Xenophon is hopeful his team will have three senators in the new parliament, along with the new Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie.
Ms Sharkie nudged out tarnished MP Jamie Briggs, who resigned in December after an incident in Hong Kong bar involving a public servant and former staff member.
Ms Sharkie said she still "couldn't quite believe the result" and did not believe that she would hold the balance of power in a hung parliament, the Sun Herald reports.
Yet it's not all winners and grinners. Once famed for being the youngest ever elected to parliament, it's likely that Queensland MP Wyatt Roy will now be known for being the youngest ever ousted from parliament instead.
Mr Roy could lose his seat of Longman, after a swing towards the ALP was seen in Queensland. The ALP looks set to nab back two to four seats in the state.
Along with the seat of Herbert, Longman had previously been considered safe or comfortable for the coalition.
Herbert seems likely to go to Pauline Hanson's One Nation party, ABC analyst Antony Green said. In some seats, there has been more than 10 per cent support for the party.
More surprises in Queensland saw the infamous Bob Katter holding onto his seat in Kennedy, though he was expected to face some serious contention when his vote crashed by 17 per cent back during the 2013 election.
Further south, Sophie Mirabella failed to reclaim her seat of Indi against independent Cathy McGowan. Ms McGowan saw a swing in her favour of 3.3 per cent, the ABC reports.
Meanwhile, the Palmer United Party (PUP) has faded into obscurity, swamped by the resurrection of Ms Hanson and her One Nation party. ABC reported that while Ms Hanson's party is "unlikely" to pick up seats in the Lower House, it should secure more than one seat in the Senate.
The One Nation leader rose to prominence in 1996 when she won the lower house seat of Oxley, and was already courting controversy last night during an interview on Channel 7.
Labor senator Sam Dastyari made a cheeky offer to the "comeback queen" by inviting her out for a late-night "Halal snack pack". Ms Hanson was not amused, and very clearly 'did not like it'.
"Pauline, right now I will invite you to join me in Sydney, and I will take you out for halal snack pack out in western Sydney," Mr Dastyari offered.
“It’s not happening, not interested in halal, thank you,” Ms Hanson snapped back. "I'm not interested in it."
Ms Hanson has said in the past she will call for a royal commission into the religion of Islam if elected.
News break – July 3
