The Coalition appears to have won the seat of Chisholm in Melbourne – previously held by the Labor Speaker of the House of Representatives Anna Burke who retired at this election – holding a lead of 1395 votes over the Liberals late on Wednesday.
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Turnbull’s disastrous polling has led to attacks from inside and outside his party after he called elections in both houses of parliament in an attempt to settle a querulous upper house Senate that had repeatedly blocked industrial relations bills.
In the list six years ago was the restoration of collective bargaining rights to Australian farmers, while he rejected support for the mining tax or carbon tax and demanded a mandate on the production of biofuels.
He has continued talking to the prime minister about the future of the troubled steel manufacturer Arrium.
“There is no doubt that there is disillusion with the mainstream parties and we respect that”.
The term “modern economics” is a reference to Liberal Party leader Turnbull’s rhetoric about “the modern, dynamic, 21st-century economy Australia needs”, which Economou said would have alienated the average person, who relies on government support for education and health.
But Mr Turnbull, more circumspect than his comments on election night of a guaranteed majority, said there were “lessons to be learned for all concerned”.
There is some Coalition concern over the seat of Flynn – where little counting took place on Wednesday – even though it has not been included in most lists of seats at risk.
Meanwhile, economist Dr Andrew Charlton – a former adviser to ex-prime minister Kevin Rudd – has said whoever forms government will inherit some of the toughest external conditions in almost two decades.
This means she will guarantee supply and confidence for the Government, but will still consider each piece of legislation on its merits.
“That’s something that will only affect a very small percentage of taxpayers, including all federal MPs who are over that threshold”.
Labor and the Greens proposed keeping the deficit levy permanently as part of their recent election commitments, but the government opposed the move. Xenophon said the Coalition should consider raising the Medicare levy a “smidgin” too, for the same reason.
“I am very confident that we will form government”, Turnbull told the press on Thursday.
He also wants the government to consider giving the auditor-general powers to monitor the effectiveness of government spending and programs – “including the billions of dollars the commonwealth provides to the states”, he said. “Turnbull already has had to trade away much of his political persona (to appease the party’s right wing) – go much further and he becomes a hollow man”.
The ABC’s election analyst Antony Green projects a total 73 seats for the Coalition, three short of an absolute majority.
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Earlier Shorten named the remaining “close counts” as being in the seats of Hindmarsh, Capricornia and Herbert.
