As of yesterday, Labor had won 86 seats; Liberals-Nationals 40; Greens 0; while 10 others, including independents, had claimed seats, but 14 were still in doubt.
Projects across the region that Dr Webster had committed to if the Coalition formed government are now in doubt – $2.8-million for stage two at Davis Park, Nhill; $500,000 for an all-abilities splash park at Kaniva; $1-million in accessibility upgrades to public amenities at ‘The Mecca’ public hall at Rainbow; $1.392-million to rebuild Beulah supermarket; and $700,000 for The Wesley in Horsham.
On a two-candidate preferred basis, Dr Webster attracted 69.76 per cent of the vote, a .77 per cent swing since the 2022 election.
The first-preference count resulted in Dr Webster tallying 48,093 votes, 50.75 per cent; followed by Labor’s Greg Olsen with 17,932 votes, 18.92 per cent. Candidates followed with Vaughan Williams, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, with 10,299 votes, 10.87 per cent; Greens’ Nicole Rowan with 8267 votes, 8.72 per cent; Ashleigh Gray, Family First, 3521, 3.72 per cent; Adam Veitch, Trumpet of Patriots, 3406, 3.59 per cent; Jeff Barry, Libertarian, 2359, 2.49 per cent; and Chris Lahy, Citizens Party, 879, 0.93 per cent.
Of the 121,662 eligible voters in Mallee, 6412 elected to vote informally.
Dr Webster, who returns for her third term, said while the election results were ‘extremely disappointing’ nationally as Labor would form a majority government, Mallee voters had re-elected The Nationals.
“I am so grateful for that honour, and for the many of you that supported my campaign – from the bottom of my heart, I thank you,” she said.
“Not only has there been a swing towards The Nationals in Mallee this election, it looks likely that we have won Mallee on first preferences and now hold Mallee with one of the largest margins for a Coalition seat in the nation.”
Dr Webster said she would hold Labor accountable for its solitary commitment to Mallee – $4.5-million for the Maryborough pool.
“Labor robs regions to buy votes in regional Australia – they did it in Mallee this election campaign, and I will be vocal in Mallee and in Canberra to ensure Mallee gets its fair share and is not railroaded by Labor’s agenda,” she said.
In Wannon, despite many tipping victory to Independent Alex Dyson, Mr Tehan held strong for a 53.80 per cent win on a two-party preferred basis.
The first-preference count was as follows: Mr Tehan, 42,972, 44.37 per cent; Mr Dyson 30,020, 31.83 per cent; Labor’s Fiona Mackenzie 9830, 10.15 per cent; Leo Curtain, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, 3918, 4.05 per cent; Kate Gazzard, The Greens, 2662, 2.75 per cent; Robbie Swan, Legalise Cannabis Party, 2642, 2.73 per cent; Lee-Ann Elmes, 1822, 1.88 per cent; Julie Ann McCamish, Trumpet of Patriots, 1492, 1.54 per cent; and Bernadine Atkinson, Independent, 681, 0.70 per cent.
Of the 121,868 eligible voters, there were 5280 informal votes.
Mr Tehan said there was ‘a lot of soul-searching’ occurring among Liberal MPs following a disaster result, but he wouldn’t be drawn on whether he would put up his hand for the leadership.
“There will need to be a process that we go through to work out what we do from here,” he said.
“I think it’s still very early because no one was anticipating the loss that we had, and no one was anticipating that Peter Dutton would lose his seat, and there’s still a sense of shock.
“The most important thing is that we have a very well-considered scrutiny and branch review of everything that happened, everything that went wrong to make sure we bring in experts and make sure we do the analysis that needs to be done as to why we lost and lost so badly.”
Mr Tehan’s pledge of $3.1-million for a headspace mental health service in Ararat; to widen a stretch of Buangor-Ben Nevis Road and upgrades junior football facilities at Ararat’s Richardson Oval are now also in doubt.
The entire May 7, 2025 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!
The entire May 7, 2025 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!
