Ex-PMs farewell election analyst Antony Green after his final ABC Australia Votes broadcastTopic:Elections1h ago1 hours agoSat 3 May 2025 at 7:25pmLoading...abc.net.au/news/australia-elections-antony-green-prime-ministers/105237300Link copiedShareShare articleIt's not often someone interrupts a prime minister, but that's what happened to John Howard on election night 1998. When Howard began to greet a friend, his response was: "Antony Green is about to say something." So, both men stopped talking and listened because, as Howard says, "Antony Green is to election analysis and election results rather like Tina Turner to rugby league — simply the best."Australian prime ministers across the political divide have paid tribute to Green, the ABC's chief elections analyst who presented his final election last night and will soon retire.Antony Green on his most stressful election and proudest predictionsPhoto shows Antony Green NSW VotesThe ABC's election guru reflects on the past 36 years at the national broadcaster in the final days before covering his last big poll on-air. The 1993 federal election was Green's first time live on camera. Kevin Rudd remembers it well. "Everyone expected Paul Keating to lose, and, as a consequence, to watch Antony that night work his way methodically through the numbers to establish that … no, the reverse was, in fact, unfolding … this was a mathematical unfolding of the night which I will always remember," Rudd told ABC."Antony's role has been fundamental. Australians over the years have learned to trust him, and that is pretty important in a democracy."Loading...Julia Gillard was sitting alongside Green on the ABC broadcast when he called the election for Labor in 2007. "There is something very special in that moment when Antony Green calls it," Gillard told the ABC. "Antony Green is the GOAT, the greatest of all time in bringing election news and analysis to Australians."She said Green's ability to break down complex information that helped people understand the complexities of Australia's electoral system was his greatest legacy. "Because democracy is an incredibly precious thing and I think the more people understand it, the better it is for the future of democracies," she said.Green on set for the 2007 federal election night coverage alongside host Kerry O'Brien and panellists Julia Gillard and Nick Minchin. (ABC News)Former Liberal PM Tony Abbott told the ABC Green was "probably the most factual and the most professional person covering elections". "He has a total respect for facts and he's very careful about his judgements," he said."Antony, I'm sorry to be losing you as the main ABC election analyst. But I've got to say, you've probably made the right decision because it's always best to go when they want you to stay, rather than to stay where they want you to go."Loading...Malcolm Turnball called Green "the democracy sausage of Australian broadcasting". "There is no-one broadcasting on an election night that has their hands on the data, their understanding of the data at the level that Antony has had, for sure," he told the ABC. "So, he is certainly the, you know, the wisest head in the room."Scott Morrison told the ABC Green's expertise stood out and he had helped people understand democracy "not just on the night, but conditioning and helping people understand how the system works". "I think he's done a great public service," he said.Anthony Albanese told the ABC Green was a "legend". "[He] comes at it from an objective point of view," he said. "People listen to Antony, and they wait for him on election night to declare the winner."Howard said Green would "depart the active political scene with, I'm sure, a rare gift". "And that is respect across the board," he said.At the end of last night's broadcast, Annabel Crabb presented Green with a bunch of flowers, remarking that she knew he didn’t like to be in the spotlight.“I’m as nervous as a duck in a log,” he replied.Green, who joined the ABC in 1989, said he was a bit overwhelmed.“This is the biggest bunch of flowers I’ve ever had in my life,” he said.“Thank you all, it’s been fabulous fun. Let’s see how we go from here."Posted 1h ago1 hours agoSat 3 May 2025 at 7:25pm, updated 38m ago38 minutes agoSat 3 May 2025 at 7:48pmShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesLABOR'S LANDSLIDE WINTopic:Australian Federal ElectionsPhoto shows Collage illustration of Anthony AlbaneseIt took just over two hours to call time on Dutton's two decades in politicsTopic:ElectionsPhoto shows A close up of Peter Dutton on stage. 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