The outcome of the Northern Territory election has been labelled as extraordinary as Labor goes from being a minority to having a landslide victory.

Northern Territory Labor leader Michael Gunner blames the 'chaotic' four years under the scandal-plagued Country Liberal party for the win and promises to live up to the voters' expectations.

'Every single Territorian, thank you for the trust that you have placed in Labor,' he told party supporters following the election on Saturday.

'It is a privilege to stand here today as a servant of the public and as the new chief minister of the NT.'

The Labor party could have as many as 18 MPs in the 25-seat parliament, according to the predictions of the ABC election website.

The party has already won 15 seats.

The CLP, which went into Saturday's election with 11, may end up with only two, while independents could take the remaining three or four seats.

Mr Gunner said Territorians were 'good people who deserve good governance and that's what we will give them.'

'They have rejected the chaos of the last four years and they have chosen to place their trust in Labor,' he said.

He vowed Labor would provide restore confidence in the Northern Territory.

'We have got a plan to deliver certainty in the NT and to restore confidence in the NT,'

'There is a cost to chaos and there is a reward for stability.'

However, he said he would work with the CLP and independents because 'they are not our enemies. They are Territorians and I will work with them.'

The win is of historical importance for the party as Labor has only held power in the state for two terms since 1974 - they were consecutive terms from 2001- 2012.

The CLP regained power in the 2012 election - and prior to the 2001 election they held it for close to three decades. </s> Outgoing chief minister Adam Giles delivers a succinct obituary for his one-term government, which had its 2012 16-seat win cut to two seats

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

It was a thumping.

Adam Giles described it best, conceding defeat of his Country Liberal party government in a landslide election result in the Northern Territory.

The win was called within two hours of polls closing, and just a handful of seats remained in doubt as the next chief minister, Michael Gunner, made his victory speech an hour later.

Giles’s central desert seat of Braitling was one yet to be called.

Northern Territory election: Adam Giles says he'll 'have a beer' if he loses Read more

With more than half the votes counted the CLP had a swing against it of more than 18%. Labor did not pick all that up, gaining 6.4% on the last election. At the time of counting there was a bigger swing towards independents with 8.9%.

All predictions had suggested an emphatic Labor victory after four years of an increasingly divisive and controversial term of government, but there were a lot of unknowns.

Since the last election in 2012 boundaries had been redrawn and new seats created, and new laws for polling day had been introduced. Territorians had optional preferential voting for the first time, and more than 50,000 took the opportunity to vote early without an excuse. Exclusion zones around polling stations prevented anyone campaigning or handing out how-to-vote cards within 100m.

The CLP had won government in 2012 with 16 seats to Labor’s eight, with a solitary independent on the crossbench, but after a series of scandals, fights, reshuffles and coups – both attempted and successful – the party was reduced to a minority of 12.

Then on Saturday night that 12 became two. Maybe four at most.

“Tonight no doubt is a landslide. It’s a thumping,” said Giles in Alice Springs. “Politically speaking tonight’s result is a lesson in disunity is death in politics. It’s a result of personality before the politics, it’s a lesson in looking after oneself rather than thinking about the people. that message has been heard loud and clear within the candidates and the party of the Country Liberals.”

The CLP, the party which had held government for 27 straight years until 2001, would rebuild, he said.

“We will remove the disagreements, we will remove the personalities of politics and we will come back bigger and better because one thing is for sure: Labor can’t manage the economy, Labor can’t manage law and order, hence one day in the future the NT will look on us to take leadership, albeit in a more concise, less personality-operated government”.

With about 55% of the vote counted, Labor had 15 seats in the bag and another three predicted. The CLP had retained just two. Three independents had won, and it would likely be four.

David Tollner, former treasurer and member for Fong Lim, who was not preselected for this election, predicted there would be more independents in parliament than CLP members.

The official Labor event, held at the Waratahs sporting club on the outskirts of Darwin’s CBD, was full of Labor faithful as well as city and suburban candidates.

Around the corner the CLP gathered in Cullen Bay. The food was better but the mood was sombre. The leader had remained in Alice Springs.

Gunner entered the Labor room to shouts and chants of congratulations, and he walked a slow gauntlet of hugs and high-fives, but the audience’s attention waned during his speech and rarely a moment went by without people talking and others shushing them.

In one resonating moment, Gunner spoke of his lifetime association with the NT. He is the first territory-born chief minister to be elected since self-governance in 1978.

“A boy born in Alice Springs, who grew up in public housing Tennant Creek, who now stands here as chief minister of the Northern Territory,” he said.

“In the Northern Territory you can dream big.” The crowd erupted.

Gunner said he would work with the independents and CLP opposition, and pledged unity and consultation – two things the electorate had indicated were missing during the CLP term.

“You all deserve access to us and we will govern for all Territorians. As Territorians we are stronger when we are united, and we are united in our determination to make our home a better place.”

Lynne Walker, member for Nhulunbuy, told Guardian Australia she was humbled by her party’s victory, and excited that as deputy chief minister she would be representing remote and Indigenous Territorians.

Northern Territory election: Michael Gunner claims victory for Labor – as it happened Read more

The federal opposition leader, Bill Shorten, called Gunner early to congratulate him, and then formally sent out a public statement once the victory speech was over.

“Territorians have punished the CLP for four years of scandal and controversy, and rewarded Labor for working hard and listening to people,” said Shorten.

“Michael listened to Territorians and offered a positive plan for creating jobs, investing in people, and restoring trust and integrity in government.

Territorians have responded to Labor’s plan, making the CLP government the first one-term government in the territory’s history.” </s> Scott Morrison has swept to victory in a sensational federal election result that defied the polls and cements the Coalition's power.

The Coalition is on track to win government, fending off Labor and Bill Shorten's efforts to take over as prime minister.

As it stands, the Coalition is headed to form a minority government at least, but could still reach the 76 seats needed to form a majority government.

The bombshell triumph comes after repeated polls placed the ALP ahead of the Morrison government, and the Prime Minister's demise appeared assured.

Swings to the Coalition in Queensland turned the election on its head as early figures suggested the Government could hold on.

Election experts said there would be no clear government tonight.

Labor scrutineers told news.com.au older voters have punished the party for its higher-taxing agenda. States where the economy is not thriving - such as Queensland, WA and country areas - have backed the Liberals' agenda focused on the economy and jobs.

"A bold agenda is now dead forever in Australia," a Labor scrutineer says as it became clear the election was turning against Shorten.

As the votes came in confidence began to grown among Liberal surpporters. At the official Liberal Party function in Sydney exuberant young Liberal supporters were heard chanting that the Liberals were "an election winning machine".

"Labor used to be party for the workers, now it's a party for people who don't work," one said.

Although former PM Tony Abbott lost his seat of Warringah to independent Zali Steggall, the Wentworth by-election result was reversed, with Liberal Dave Sharma reclaiming the old seat of Malcolm Turnbull from the woman who defeated him in October, Dr Kerryn Phelps.

But the swing against Labor in Queensland was devastating.

The Australian's columnist Troy Bramston says Labor figures are "stunned and shocked" at the result currently unfolding, which pretty much nobody expected.

"It looks like a diabolical night for the party," Bramston said.

ABC political editor Andrew Probyn says Labor sources are telling him their chances have been "killed" by the Coalition's preference deals with Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and Pauline Hanson's One Nation.

Results then began flowing in from the west.

Labor's Anny Aly has held on in the West Australian seat of Cowan while Patrick Gorman has also retained the seat of Perth.

The Liberal Party was won Swan, with Steve Irons being re-elected.

And Attorney-General Christian Porter has won his tough race in Pearce. Fellow minister Ken Wyatt has held on in Hasluck.

Labor gained Chisolm in Victoria. That's the seat former Liberal Julia Banks held, before deciding to contest Flinders instead. Health Minister Greg Hunt defeated her there.

The Nationals have held Cowper, fending off Rob Oakeshott.

In the days before the eleciton news.com.au's State of the Nation survey placed the Coalition ahead, however, with about 32 per cent saying the Coalition would get their vote, compared to 26 per cent for Labor.

Mr Morrison has also consistently beaten Mr Shorten in the polls as preferred PM, at 58 per cent in the State of the Nation survey compared to 42 per cent for Mr Shorten.

Labor has repeatedly beaten the Coalition in Newspoll surveys, but its leader's approval ratings trailed behind. Last week's poll showed only 38 per cent of respondents thought Mr Shorten would make the better PM to Mr Morrison's 45 per cent, although 51 per cent backed Labor to 49 per cent supporting the Coalition in the two-party preferred vote.

It was a tight race, but the news is a huge blow for Mr Shorten, who had worked hard to rehabilitate his image and appeared to grow in confidence during the campaign. His second election failure is almost certain to spell the end of his leadership, while Mr Morrison will be relieved he has helped the Coalition edge over the line to return for a third term in government.

Mr Morrison's landmark achievement has up-ended almost all commentators' predictions, proving polls and general consensus are not always correct, following a pattern of recent global surprises - including the UK's Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump as US President.

The Prime Minister repeatedly emphasised the Coalition's strength on the economy, promising income tax cuts and lower bills while playing down the threat of climate change.

Mr Morrison was a controversial Immigration Minister under Tony Abbott after the 2013 election, implementing Operation Sovereign Borders before becoming Social Services Minister in a 2014 reshuffle. The MP for Cook in New South Wales was promoted to Treasurer when Malcolm Turnbull became prime minister in 2015, and stepped in as the compromise candidate after a Peter Dutton challenge in August 2018.

But it seems he has been underestimated. After nine months in the job, Mr Morrison has been given the seal of approval by Australia. </s> MELBOURNE/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s Liberal-led conservative government was headed for a remarkable victory at the national election early on Sunday after uncovering a narrow path to victory that twisted through urban fringes and rural townships.

The results upended pre-election polls which predicted a Labor victory, though it is unclear whether the Scott Morrison-led coalition can govern with an outright majority or will need to negotiate support from independents.

The final result may not be known for some time.

“I have always believed in miracles,” Morrison told cheering supporters at Sydney’s Wentworth Hotel, where the government holds its official election night function.

“Tonight is not about me or it’s not about even the Liberal party. Tonight is about every single Australian who depends on their government to put them first.”

The conservative government has won or is leading in 72 seats in its quest for a 76-seat majority, according to the Australian Electoral Commission.

Several seats are still too close to call and the final result is complicated by a large number of early votes that have delayed counting.

Morrison’s coalition defied expectations by holding onto a string of outer suburban seats in areas where demographics closest resemble America’s Rust Belt, blocking Labor’s path to victory.

This included a devastating result in the coal-rich state of Queensland, which backed the Pentecostal church-going prime minister by defying expectations and delivering several marginal seats to his government.

Labor leader Bill Shorten said late on Saturday he could not win enough seats to form a government. Speaking to supporters in Melbourne he said he would step down as party leader. </s> With so many gains for the Coalition and so few for Labor, Mr Shorten's hopes of becoming Prime Minister receded as election night went on. The Coalition, which has trailed Labor in the polls throughout its turbulent time in government, went in to the campaign with 74 seats and added to that tally across Queensland, where it defeated Labor in Longman and Herbert. The Coalition also wrested the Tasmanian seat of Braddon from Labor and appeared likely to claim the neighbouring electorate of Bass as well. The Coalition and Labor teams were anxiously waiting on results from Western Australia to be sure of the outcome. The Coalition's gains left Labor clutching to the hope of negotiating with crossbench MPs to hold government in a hung Parliament. With the electorate enduring more than a decade of unprecedented parliamentary bloodletting - Australia has had seven Prime Ministers in 11 years - many neutral observers were hoping for a period of political stability.

However, the result shows the nation is divided along geographic and ideological lines with Mr Abbott declaring a political "realignment" with Labor making gains in progressive wealthy seats and the Coalition doing better in working class areas. A group of key independents could still hold the key to power. Mr Abbott said the Coalition would be able to retain government even though he conceded he would lose his seat of Warringah, a safe Liberal electorate for years that came under attack from independent candidate Zali Steggall and her campaign for more action on climate change. "The good news is that there is every chance the Liberal National Coalition has won this election," Mr Abbott said. "This is a really extraordinary result, it is a stupendous result, it is a great result for Scott Morrison and the rest of the Liberal team, and Scott Morrison will quite rightly enter the Liberal pantheon forever."

In western Sydney, the electorate of Lindsay fell to the Liberals while the neighbouring electorate of Macquarie appeared to be shifting in the same way. In eastern Sydney, the Liberal Party was confident of regaining the blue-ribbon seat of Wentworth with Liberal candidate Dave Sharma ahead of independent MP Kerryn Phelps, who gained the seat at a byelection last year. The outcomes give the Coalition a narrow majority in the House of Representatives unless it suffers the loss of other seats. Labor gained the seat of Gilmore on the NSW South Coast and the two Victorian seats of Chisholm and Dunkley. Bill Shorten with his wife Chloe on election day. Early in the night, Mr Shorten appeared to be on track to become Australia's 31st prime minister after an exit poll predicted a swing to Labor, with voters naming health and climate change as key factors in their decisions.

While Labor Party members were buoyant before the early count, Mr Morrison expressed caution about his chances, saying he made "no assumptions" about holding on to power. While the Liberal Party appeared likely to regain Wentworth, independent MPs made gains elsewhere with Victorian independent Helen Haines on track to win Indi and succeed former independent MP Cathy McGowan. Combined with the victory for Ms Steggall, the election appears to leave Parliament with a crossbench that includes Greens MP Adam Bandt, Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie, Queenslander Bob Katter, South Australian Rebekha Sharkie as well as Ms Steggall and Dr Haines. Mr Wilkie has ruled out doing any deal with a minority government while Mr Katter has backed the Coalition in the past. Others have named climate change policy as a factor in their decisions on whether to support a minority government on votes of confidence and supply.

The government's 74 seats in the House of Representatives was down from the 76 it won at the last election due to the departure of former Liberal MP Julia Banks to the crossbench and the arrival of independent MP Kerryn Phelps in Wentworth. Labor started with 69 seats from the last Parliament. Bill Shorten and wife Chloe, left, and Scott Morrison and wife Jenny, right, vote on Saturday. Labor described its election effort as its largest "field campaign" in history, putting more than 25,000 volunteers into the field to knock on more than one million doors. Labor claimed its supporters made more than one million phone calls to urge Australians to back their party. Activist group GetUp said it had mobilised more than 9000 volunteers who had worked on the ground, with a wider group of helpers making more than 700,000 phone calls during the campaign. The ACTU had about 5000 volunteers working during the campaign.

Mr Shorten began the final day of the campaign by urging Australians to change the government because Labor would act on climate change, spend more on health, restore stability after the leadership division within the Liberal Party and improve fairness by scaling back tax concessions for the wealthy. He visited Melbourne electorates after an early morning run wearing a t-shirt that asked people to vote for "Chloe Shorten's husband" – an acknowledgement of his wife's importance to his campaign. Mr Morrison campaigned at a more hectic pace by flying to Tasmania on Saturday morning to woo voters in the marginal seat of Bass before heading to Sydney for the remainder of the day. The Coalition adopted the same approach the previous day with a relentless tour through Queensland marginal seats.

"I already feel a responsibility to millions of people to win. But sure, I want to do it for Bob, as well," Mr Shorten said on Thursday. "I don't want to let his memory down." </s> Federal election: See how the Coalition defied the polls to retain power

Labor went into the 2019 federal election favourites off the back of almost three years of opinion polls, but within hours it became clear that the polls had failed to capture the mood of the electorate.

The ALP was expecting to pick up seats off a low base in Queensland, but that was not to be the case.

The most high-profile scalp Labor was hoping to claim was that of Liberal leadership contender Peter Dutton, who sat on a slim margin in Dickson.

Despite a large Labor war chest and a scathing attack on Mr Dutton from former PM Paul Keating — who urged voters to "drive a political stake through his dark political heart" — the Liberal member held on.

Mr Dutton quoted Mr Keating in his acceptance speech: "This was the sweetest victory of all."

The result was emblematic of what occurred across the rest of the state.

Labor had hopes of taking seats like Petrie from the LNP …

… But instead the party found itself fighting for strongholds like Wayne Swan's former seat of Lilley.

In Queensland, the rise of United Australia Party and One Nation saw a collapse in Labor's primary vote and added up to two extra seats for the LNP in the Sunshine State: Longman and Herbert.

Labor's east coast hopes rested with Victoria, where it might have been expected to do well — given the popularity of the state Labor Government.

And it was further helped by two redistributions, which turned two marginal Liberal seats notionally Labor.

The party was able to hold both Corangamite and Dunkley, but elsewhere in Victoria, it was a different story.

While Treasurer Josh Frydenberg faced a tough battle for his west-Melbourne seat of Kooyong, he prevailed.

Labor had been hoping to claim Higgins, in Melbourne's inner south-east, given the retirement of Liberal MP Kelly O'Dwyer.

But while there was a swing in Labor's favour, it was not enough to stop Katie Allen from retaining the seat for the Government.

The ALP also had hopes for Chisholm, but late on Saturday night it had swung back to "in doubt".

So for Labor, Victoria was not the bloodbath of the north, but it still wasn't pretty.

Of the five Tasmanian seats, Labor held four going into this election.

But the Liberal Party knew it could gain ground there.

Clearly in their sights was Braddon.

In the end, it was a boost for minor party candidates — particularly One Nation — and a significant plunge in Labor primary votes that handed the seat to Justine Keay's Liberal challenger Gavin Pearce.

Labor was able to retain the central seat of Lyons — likely benefitting from the disendorsement of the Liberal candidate — and Franklin, which takes in part of Hobart.

But the national shift was evident in the fight over Bass.

The Labor MP Ross Hart could not hold onto his seat, making the Apple Isle now equally blue and red, with one independent.

In NSW, off the back of a strong Coalition state election win, each side of politics took a seat off the other.

They paid for that in Gilmore, where the Prime Minister had gone over the heads of local officials to install Warren Mundine — an ex-Labor Party national president — as the party's candidate.

Labor's Fiona Phillips was able to take advantage of the discontent to win the seat.

But in seats like Lindsay, on Sydney's western edge, the results were better for the Liberals.

With sitting Labor MP Emma Husar not recontesting following a staffing scandal, the Coalition saw an opportunity — and took it.

The biggest news out of New South Wales on the night — and a result against the grain of the election — was former PM Tony Abbott's loss in Warringah, a seat he held since 1994. Mr Abbott was pushed out by independent Zali Steggall, who campaigned heavily on a platform of climate change action.

And he was one of the first to acknowledge his party was on the march: "The good news is that there's every chance the Liberal National Coalition has won this election," he told the crowd in his concession speech.

As the results unfolded, Labor stalwarts turned their eyes to the west in the hope that it would buck the trend and deliver salvation, but it wasn't to be — essentially returning a status quo.

The Government's Minister for Aged Care and Indigenous Health, Ken Wyatt, came into this election holding Hasluck for the Liberals by a margin of 2.1 per cent.

He managed to boost that majority on Saturday.

The same goes for Pearce, Attorney-General Christian Porter's seat.

Mr Porter is considered a rising star in the Coalition ministry.

The two-party-preferred gap has gotten progressively smaller in Pearce over the past few years, leaving him with a margin of just 3.6 per cent coming into election day.

On Saturday, he managed to increase that, soundly beating first-time Labor candidate Kim Travers.

Swan, taking in both affluent and working-class areas of eastern Perth, was solidly Labor territory for years when it was held by former party leader Kim Beazley.

More recently it has gone blue, with Steve Irons holding the seat by a margin of 3.6 per cent going into the 2019 election.

His chief challenger this time around was someone with a bit of family history in the race: Mr Beazley's daughter, Hannah Beazley.

But the name recognition for Ms Beazley was not enough to overcome the statewide — and nationwide — mood.

And so at the end of the night the Coalition stood on the cusp of electoral victory. With 74 seats it is still short of a majority, and so it may have to turn to independents like Helen Haines and Zali Steggall to secure a working majority in Parliament.

If it does get over the line and gain a majority in its own right, the Coalition finds itself in much the same position it did after 2016 — with all the risks to unity that a slender majority carries. </s> WA election: New era for Labor as Mark McGowan elected Premier in landslide

WA Premier-elect Mark McGowan has vowed to get to work immediately on implementing his ambitious platform, after Labor was swept into office in a landslide that claimed the scalps of at least four Liberal ministers.

Mr McGowan ended eight-and-a-half years in opposition for Labor, inflicting a powerful defeat on Colin Barnett's Government and the Liberal Party.

Labor needed to win 10 additional seats to form government — but it picked up at least 18 and may take as many as 21, and has secured a sizeable parliamentary majority.

The 16 per cent swing against the Liberals saw at least four ministers lose their seats.

The ABC's projections show ministers John Day, Andrea Mitchell, Paul Miles and Albert Jacob all fell on a disastrous night for the Liberals.

Liberal leadership aspirant Joe Francis and Nationals leader Brendon Grylls are facing nervous waits to find out if their parliamentary careers are over, while Agriculture Minister Mark Lewis may have lost his Upper House spot.

Former Liberal ministers Tony Simpson and Murray Cowper and Legislative Assembly speaker Michael Sutherland were among the other casualties.

The party's night was perhaps encapsulated in a single tweet by Barnett Government minister and Liberal powerbroker Peter Collier at 9:10pm as the result crystallised.

If the current projected results eventuate, there will just be three women in the Liberal partyroom — Liza Harvey, Libby Mettam and Donna Farragher.

The size of Labor's gains exceeded even the party's most optimistic assessments, with its victories over Mr Cowper in Murray-Wellington and Ms Mitchell in Kingsley considered shock results.

Labor is expected to hold between 38 and 41 seats in the 59-seat Legislative Assembly.

But Labor's control is likely to be much weaker in the Upper House, where One Nation and a handful of other micro parties have a chance of getting elected.

One Nation's primary vote of just 4.7 per cent in the Lower House was far worse than the party had been hoping, but it fared slightly better in the Upper House - where it could still win one or two seats.

Mr McGowan used his victory speech to reaffirm several of his key election commitments, including the delivery of Labor's multi-billion-dollar Metronet public transport system.

"We will get to work immediately on carrying out our plans.

"You deserve good government and, with my team, I am committed to delivering just that."



The remarkable thing in this result is the collapse of the Liberal vote.

 

The National Party has struggled in Kalgoorlie and Pilbara, which are the two mining districts, but their halted vote has held up quite comfortably in all the other areas where the Nationals contested.

 

It's the Liberal Party vote that suffered.

 

[The] collapse in their first-preference vote … hasn't gone to One Nation, a lot of it's gone straight to Labor.

Labor set itself an ambitious series of campaign goals, including completing the first stage of Metronet within six years while bringing the budget back to surplus by 2019-20.

Mr McGowan also used his speech to pay tribute to the union movement for its assistance during the campaign.

The new government is likely to have to deal with a fractured Upper House, with One Nation, Fluoride Free WA and the Liberal Democrats currently projected by the ABC to pick up one seat each, and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers forecast to win two seats.

The Liberal post-mortem examination has already commenced following the party's disastrous result, but the outgoing Premier said he would not be drawn into determining where it all went wrong.

He said his party ran a "great campaign", saying time was the main factor in the result.

Attention will quickly turn to who will lead the Liberals in opposition, with Mr Francis declaring he wants the job but facing an uncertain parliamentary future.

Liza Harvey and Dean Nalder are seen as the other strongest contenders. </s> Australian opposition leader Bill Shorten has conceded defeat to Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the country’s general election.

Mr Shorten made the announcement to supporters of his opposition Labour Party late on Saturday night in Melbourne.

He said: “It is obvious that Labour will not be able to form the next government and so, in the national interest, a short while ago, I called Scott Morrison to congratulate him.”

Poll forecasts give 74 seats in the 151-seat lower parliamentary house to Mr Morrison’s conservative Liberal-National party coalition, with 65 seats to Labour and 12 undecided.

The Channel 9 network gave 73 seats to the coalition, 61 to Labour, with 17 undecided.

A total of 76 seats are needed to form a majority government. </s> Scott Morrison will remain as Prime Minister after an extraordinary night saw the Coalition claim an unexpected election win.

In a result which opinion polls and betting markets failed to predict, the Liberal and the National parties recorded strong swings to them - particularly in Queensland - granting them a possible slim majority or a minority with the support of independents.

The result was called shortly after 9.30pm AEST - as results began to be called in Western Australia.

Labor struggled to pick up enough seats even in Melbourne, in its strongest state Victoria, and has lost electorates in Brisbane, north Queensland, western Sydney and Tasmania.

ABC election analyst Antony Green said Labor had little hope of even forming a minority government, with Labor failing to pick up any marginal seats in Perth.

'At this stage, we think the Morrison Government has been re-elected. We can't see an alternative to a Morrison Government in the numbers we're seeing at the moment,' he said.

'We can't say whether the Government will be in a majority or minority, but we're certainly seeing enough numbers to say that the Coalition will end up with more seats than Labor.'

Mr Green said the result was a 'spectacular failure of opinion polls' with the upset representing the first occasion since 2004 that a federal government has enjoyed a swing towards it.

Former Liberal prime minister John Howard, who won that election, said voters had rejected Labor's 'politics of class division'.

'I did believe very strongly Bill Shorten had overplayed his hand on the class warfare,' he said.

Ironically, the Coalition had not won a Newspoll since 2016 and Labor had won 55 consecutive Newspolls going into the election.

This included a period which saw Malcolm Turnbull replaced in August as prime minister after the Liberal Party's right-faction revolted against his energy policy.

Labor, so far, appears to have only gained the NSW South Coast seat of Gilmore, where the Liberal Party was running former Labor national president Warren Mundine, and possibly Chisholm in Melbourne's south-east where sitting member Julia Banks had quit the Liberal Party to sit as an independent.

It has an outside chance of winning Boothby, in Adelaide's south, with a swing of 3.2 per cent towards it - in a seat the Liberal Party has held since 1949.

Mr Shorten's big-target strategy backfired, with voters rejecting his plans to curb negative gearing tax breaks for investor landlords, deprive share-owning retirees of franking credits and slash carbon emissions by 45 per cent by 2030.

Having now lost two elections, he will most likely to be replaced as Labor leader, six years after he beat left-faction contender Anthony Albanese, even though his opponent had more support from party members in a postal ballot.

'Tonight is an outcome that is disappointing,' Mr Albanese told his supporters in Sydney's inner-west.

His Sydney-based deputy Tanya Plibersek is another possible leadership contender and blamed preferences from One Nation and mining magnate Clive Palmer's United Australia Party for the poor result in Queensland.

'It's not the result we'd hoped for in Queensland,' she told the ABC.

Mr Howard likened Labor's loss to the 1993 'unloseable' election when Liberal leader John Hewson was defeated, campaigning for a 15 per cent GST.

'There was a whiff of 1993 about the last couple of weeks,' he told the ABC.

'One side had been ahead in the polls but the other had gained ground during the campaign.'

On the NSW Central Coast, which had a high number of retirees, the Liberal Party recorded a 4.3 per cent swing to it, boosting sitting member Lucy Wicks' margin to 5.5 per cent.

The Liberal Party, however, has been punished in one of Sydney's wealthiest electorates.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott became the first major casualty of an surprising general election, losing his blue-ribbon seat of Warringah after 25 years in Parliament.

His independent challenger Zali Steggall, a Winter Olympic skiing medalist, has romped home on Sydney's northern beaches in a contest fought over climate change action.

Steggall had an impressive 49.2 per cent of first-preference votes compared to just 35.4 per cent for Mr Abbott, in early counting, representing a mammoth 11.4 per cent swing against the Liberal Party.

'I know I'm going to sound croaky but what a day,' she said, claiming victory.

Taking a dig at her socially-conservative opponent Mr Abbott, she this was 'a win for moderates with a heart.'

'I will be a climate leader for you,' she said. 'I will hold the new government to account and make sure they take action on climate change.'

She paid tribute to the former PM's 'work ethic and contribution to this community'.

Conceding defeat, Mr Abbott said: 'I'd rather be a loser than a quitter.'

He also declared Mr Morrison, who replaced Mr Turnbull as PM in August, would be a Liberal Party legend.

'Scott Morrison will rightly enter the Liberal pantheon forever,' he said.

Former Nationals deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce slammed GetUp! and left-wing activists for targeting Mr Abbott, as the Coalition recorded strong swings to it in Brisbane's outer suburbs and regional Queensland.

'You went after Tony you clowns ... and forgot about everyone else,' he told the ABC.

In Queensland, the Labor Party suffered a 4.4 per cent against it, making it the Opposition's worst state.

Liberal Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has survived and recorded a 3.8 per cent to him in his marginal northern Brisbane seat of Dickson, despite earlier controversy earlier in the campaign where he questioned the living arrangements of his Labor opponent Ali France, who lost a leg in 2011.

He described his win as 'the sweetest victory of all ' - quoting former Labor prime minister Paul Keating's victory speech in 1993, when won the 'unloseable' election.

The Sunshine State was bad for Labor, which was on course to lose neighbouring Longman, in Brisbane's north, with a 4.1 per cent swing to the Liberal National Party.

Herbert, which Labor's Cathy O'Toole won by 37 votes in 2016, was lost, with a seven per cent swing to the LNP.

The Liberal National Party is also recording strong swings to it in its marginal seats of Capricornia, Dawson, Petrie and Forde.

Senior Labor frontbencher Penny Wong acknowledged the areas of Australia north of the Tweed were historically hard for her party to maintain support.

'Queensland's tough for us,' she told the ABC.

NSW Liberal senator Arthur Sinodinos said Prime Minister Scott Morrison was 'straight forward' and popular in the outer suburbs of Brisbane.

'A personifies a certain daggyness people aspire to,' he told the ABC.

Senator Sinodinos said the anti-Adani protests led by a former Greens leader - 'Bob Brown's caravan' - had also hurt Labor in north Queensland.

Tasmania is also punishing the Opposition, with the regional seats of Bass and Braddon going to the Liberal Party with swings of six per cent.

Labor is also suffering double-digit swings against it in in western Sydney, where it looks likely to lose the seat of Lindsay and possibly neighbouring Macquarie.

Liberal Immigration Minister David Coleman has retained the south-west Sydney seat of Banks with a 4.3 per cent swing towards him, boosting his margin to 5.8 per cent in a seat that Labor had held from 1949 to 2013.

This is in stark contrast to an early Nine Network/Galaxy exit poll which showed Bill Shorten would be Australia's next prime minister, with the Opposition ahead of the Coalition 52 to 48 per cent on a two-party preferred basis nationwide.

The poll surveyed 33 electorates across six states and found a swing to the ALP in every state, ranging from 1.1 per cent in Queensland, 3.2 per cent in Victoria and 2.5 per cent in New South Wales.

The exit poll, since proven wrong, had the Coalition's primary vote sinking by three per cent, to 39 per cent, since the 2016 election, which former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull narrowly won.

Labor's first-preference vote has surged by the same margin to 38 per cent, giving it the edge with preferences from the Greens, who had 10 per cent support.

The major parties will need 76 seats to win a parliamentary majority in an expanded 151-seat House of Representatives with early counting showing uneven swings in key marginal seats.

The Nine exit poll of 3000 voters found that health and Medicare were the main issues that influenced their voting, followed by cost of living and climate change.

The Labor Opposition went into the election notionally holding 72 seats, following redistributions, compared with 73 for the Coalition.

His Queensland Liberal National Party could lose Forde, in Brisbane's south, along with Capricornia, centred around Rockhampton, and Flynn, which takes in Gladstone.

The exit poll came as Scott Morrison refused to say whether he will carry on as Liberal Leader should he lose the election.

The Prime Minister addressed the media after kissing his wife Jenny as they cast their ballots in his electorate of Cook, in southern Sydney.

Unlike his confident opponent Mr Shorten this morning, Mr Morrison shied away from predicting the result.

'I make no assumptions about tonight,' the Prime Minister said.

He then refused to comment on whether he would continue as Liberal leader as he stares down the barrel of defeat after serving just nine months as PM.

'As I have said when this question has been put to me before, this election is not about my future. It is about your future. It is about the people of Australia's future,' Mr Morrison said.

'It is about their aspirations, their ambitions. It is not about my aspirations or Bill Shorten's ambition, it is about the Australian people's aspiration and that is what I have focused on.'

Revealing that he voted for himself, he joked: 'I think you can guess how I voted today because I hear the local member is pretty good.'

Mr Morrison thanked supporters and said he would not like to predict the result, adding: 'I make no assumptions about tonight.

'I respect this process. It is dear to my heart, the democracy of our country. I am making no presumptions. I don't take anyone's support in this country for granted.'

The election is being held just two days after the death of Labor's longest-serving prime minister Bob Hawke, who won four elections in 1983, 1984, 1987 and 1990.

Mr Shorten cancelled last-minute campaigning in Brisbane to focus on remembering Mr Hawke at memorial events in Sydney.

The former Australian Workers Union leader this morning said he is so confident of winning the election that he is already planning what he would do on his first day in power.

He gave a short speech outlining his priorities, after casting his vote at Moonee Ponds, in his Melbourne electorate of Maribyrnong and awkwardly eating a democracy sausage.

Should the Opposition Leader prevail tonight, he would become Australia's sixth prime minister since June 2013 - a sharp contrast to an era when Mr Hawke governed for almost nine years through several recessions and implemented far-reaching economic reforms with support from the union movement.

In less than six years, Australia has gone through Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd from the Labor side, and Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and now Mr Morrison from the Liberal Party.

Since 2010, four of them have dumped by their own party, with Mr Shorten playing a pivotal role as a factional powerbroker in the dumping of two Labor PMs.

A victory for Mr Shorten tonight would also make him the first sitting Australian prime minister to have divorced and remarried and the 31st person to occupy the nation's highest office.

His stepchildren Rupert, 17, and Georgette, 16, and his seven-year-old daughter Clementine will be the first blended family to live at The Lodge in Canberra and Kirribilli House on Sydney Harbour.

Should Mr Morrison remain as Liberal Party leader, he would be the first electorally defeated prime minister to take over as Opposition Leader since Gough Whitlam remained as Labor leader in December 1975, following the controversial November 11 Dismissal.

With less than nine months as PM, he is the shortest serving officeholder since Country Party leader John McEwen briefly served in that role in December 1967 and January 1968, following Harold Holt's drowning.

Standing alongside his popular wife Chloe, he declared that his first move would be to make a law raising pay for shift-workers at nights and weekends.

The 52-year-old said: 'In the event that the people of Australia voted for action on climate change, we will be ready to hit the ground from tomorrow. We'll be ready to start straight away and we will start straight away.

'My first cabinet meeting, the first order of business, we will put a submission to the independent umpire to get the wages moving again for millions of our fellow Australians.

'My first legislation will be to reverse the cuts to penalty rates.'

Mr Shorten also explained that tackling climate change is another priority, saying: 'We will convene the parliament as soon as possible to start action on climate change.

A reporter asked Mr Shorten if he would quit politics if he lost the election.

'Let's hold the horses here,' the leader replied. 'I'm confident that Labor can win. Is Mr Morrison staying around? Have you asked him?'

Polls suggest the opposition leader is on track to become prime minister and lead Labor to government for the first time since 2013.

Mr Shorten and his wife Chloe met voters in long queues before casting their ballots on Saturday.

He chomped a sausage sandwich afterwards, partaking in one Australia's great election day traditions.

'Tastes like a mood for change,' he said.

Mr Shorten kicked off his day in trademark fashion, with a morning run around Melbourne wearing a red t-shirt with 'Vote 1 Chloe Shorten's husband'.

He then switched outfits, donning a suit as he made a final pitch to voters on breakfast television.

The Labor leader is expected to spend the day on polling stations around the Victorian capital, considered a key battleground in the election.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is keeping the faith as he stares down a likely election defeat.

All signs suggest the coalition will be sent packing after a narrow Labor win on Saturday night.

'I think it will be a long night. I've always said this election will be close,' Mr Morrison told Sunrise on Network Seven.

'Five weeks ago people weren't saying that, but I've always known it to be the case.'

The final Newspoll of the campaign shows Labor edging ahead of the coalition by 51.5 to 48.5 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

But both sides believe battles in 20 key marginal seats across the country will decide the result.

Mr Morrison spent his election morning in Tasmania where the Coalition was trying to soak up every vote possible to take the marginal seats of Bass and Braddon from Labor.

He then flew to Sydney to cast his own vote in the Sutherland Shire, before campaigning with other MPs in marginal electorates across the city.

The Prime Minister has presented this election as a presidential-style race between himself and Mr Shorten.

Voters will now deliver their verdict on whether his frenetic five-week campaign has been enough to secure the coalition a third term in power.

Mr Morrison spent the final full day of his campaign targeting a clutch of key seats throughout Queensland and NSW.

The Liberals are expecting reasonable results in both of the states, with Victoria and Western Australia firming up as the crucial battlegrounds.
The opposition Australian Labor Party defeats the governing Country Liberal Party in a landslide, reducing the CLP to just two seats.