By Andrew Cantwell
Former shadow ministers Mark Dreyfus and Clare O’Neill look set for plum roles in the new Federal Government after picking up their respective seats of Isaacs and Hotham with increased margins in Saturday’s poll.
First elected to Isaacs in 2007, Mr Dreyfus most recently served as shadow Attorney-General, a role he has a good chance of retaining in Anthony Albanese’s ministry.
Mr Dreyfus recorded a ‘two candidate preferred’ vote of 57.26 percent, up almost a percent after preferences, in the electoral commission’s count as at 11.47am Sunday.
Liberal candidate Robbie Beaton gained 42.74 percent of the ‘two candidate’ vote.
Liberal and Labor recorded swings against in first preference votes – Labor down almost 4.5 per cent for 40.46 per cent of first votes and Liberal down 3.9 per cent for 31.34 per cent of first votes.
Greens candidate Alex Breskin gained 12.8 per cent of primary votes, with Liberal Democrats (5.1 per cent), United Australia Party (5.07 per cent), One Nation (3.1 per cent) and the Animal Justice Party (2.1 per cent) taking out the ‘also ran’ votes.
In Hotham, former Greater Dandenong mayor and most recently shadow seniors and aged care minister Clare O’Neill was returned with an almost 64.8 per cent ‘two candidate’ tally.
Liberal candidate Savitri Bevinakoppa gained gained over 35.2 per cent of the ‘two candidate’ count, suffering a swing of more than eight per cent against in primary voting.
Ms O’Neill, now in her fourth term, also had a swing against, of 2.65 percent in primary voting.
Greens candidate Louisa Willoughby benefited from some of that, increasing the Greens’ primary vote by 2.45 per cent to 11.39 per cent of primaries.
But the big winner from the swing against the major parties was Liberal Democrat candidate Edward Sok, who earned 6.54 per cent of the primary vote.
The United Australia Party vote was also up 2.36 per cent to take just over six per cent of primary votes.
One Nation picked up almost 2.7 per cent of primary votes.
In both Hotham and Isaacs, prepoll and absentee votes were yet to be counted.
