liveFederal politics live: Nationals deputy leader Perin Davey 'shattered' she will likely lose Senate seatBy political reporter Joshua Boscaini and reporters Andrew Thorpe and Caitlin RawlingTopic:Elections3h ago3 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:00pmSkip to timelineabc.net.au/news/federal-politics-live-election-albanese-labor-liberal-party/105256500Link copiedShareShare articleNationals deputy leader Perin Davey is on track to lose her Senate seat to Labor, telling ABC News Radio she is "shattered" and that a fall in the Liberal vote has cost her.Earlier, former Liberal minister Arthur Sinodinos said the state of his party was dire but not terminal as recriminations over the Coalition's landslide election loss continued.Follow our live blog below.Key Events'We treat housing as an investment in Australia not as a human right': Pocock28m ago28 minutes agoMon 5 May 2025 at 11:54pmNationals deputy leader says fall in Liberal vote costed her re-election to senate1h ago1 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 11:14pmAmbitious men preventing Liberal women from being elected, Charlotte Mortlock says1h ago1 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 10:40pmShow all key eventsSubmit a comment or question Log in to commentLive updatesLatestOldest3m agoTue 6 May 2025 at 12:19amWhat's the current state of play? Your questions answeredJBy Joshua BoscainiA few of you have asked for an update on the vote counting in several close races across Australia. Ask and you shall receive!Independent candidate Jessie Price has inched ahead of Labor's David Smith in Bean with about 85 per cent of the vote counted.The Nationals' Andrew Lethlean has pulled ahead of Labor MP Lisa Chesters in Bendigo with 85 per cent of the vote counted.Labor's Sarah Witty has inched ahead of Greens leader Adam Bandt in the seat of Melbourne. About 65 per cent of the vote has bee counted there.Independent candidate Kate Hulett is ahead of Labor MP Josh Wilson in Fremantle.Goldstein, Kooyong, Bradfield, Wills, Bullwinkel and Menzies are still too close to call.ReactReactCopy linkKey Event28m agoMon 5 May 2025 at 11:54pm'We treat housing as an investment in Australia not as a human right': PocockCBy Caitlin RawlingACT independent senator David Pocock was on Radio National Breakfast earlier this morning and was asked if he shared Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young's assessment that the incoming parliament would be the most progressive federal parliament Australia has ever seen.Pocock said there was an opportunity for people in parliament to move forward with a bunch of things that were important to Australians."I really don't think that this election was a vote for the status quo," he told Radio National Breakfast."We've seen a continued swing towards independents in the House of Reps, basically to the same tune as Labor."I think we've got to start to get cracking on housing and actually dealing with the root causes of the housing crisis."We treat housing as an investment, in Australia, not as a human right, something that needs to be accessible and affordable for communities to be able to flourish."I think things like climate and nature, we've got to start, stop kidding ourselves as a parliament, and really, really step up there."I think the Senate worked really well when the crossbench had the balance of power, because you had independents who were genuinely committed to consulting and moving amendments that really reflected what we were hearing from people in our communities," he says.ReactReactCopy link56m agoMon 5 May 2025 at 11:26pmLabor MP asked what his party understood that the Liberal Party did notCBy Caitlin RawlingLabor MP Daniel Mulino was on Sky News earlier this morning, and was asked about what he thinks his party understood that the Liberal Party did not.He says it came down to their "concrete policies" on things like Medicare and urgent care clinics, which he could talk to people about and it would "match their values"."Also things like investment in training, fee-free TAFE, and also investment in a lot of transport infrastructure right across Melbourne's West, whether it be Melbourne Airport rail or whether it be investment in highways and major roads."I think it was a campaign that was very focused on cost of living and practical service delivery which people understood, which resonated with their values," he says.ReactReactCopy linkKey Event1h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 11:14pmNationals deputy leader says fall in Liberal vote costed her re-election to senateJBy Joshua BoscainiLet's turn our attention to the Senate vote count now.Nationals deputy leader Perin Davey is on track to lose her Senate seat to Labor, according to the latest vote count.Davey has told ABC News Radio she is "shattered" and says her prospects are not looking good.The Liberals and Nationals appeared on a joint Senate ticket in NSW this election, and Davey says that hurt her re-election chances."It's not based on a loss in the National Party vote, my loss will be based entirely on people not wanting to vote for the Liberals because of our agreement with the Liberals that on this cycle the Nationals position falls to the third spot on the Senate ticket, which is the most at-risk spot," she says.She says the Nationals vote held up in NSW, despite losing the electorate of Calare to incumbent independent Andrew Gee, who held the seat as a National before turning independent in 2023.Davey says more Nationals should be elevated to the Coalition frontbench and to second spot on the next election's Liberal and National senate ticket.ReactReactCopy link1h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 11:08pmJonathon Duniam asked who he would like to lead the Liberal PartyCBy Caitlin RawlingJonathon Duniam has been asked who he would like to lead the Liberal Party now that Peter Dutton is out.Duniam told Sky News he is not going to put forward anyone in particular."Whoever it is has to get back to basics when it's policy, when it's communicating with the community that we lost touch with."It's a very, very basic proposition politics, [you] go out, understand what the issues are, find a solution within your values framework."Go back out, tell people what you're going to do and hopefully that translates into votes. I just want a leader that's going to do that," he says.ReactReactCopy link1h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 11:01pm'We've got to rebuild': Tasmanian Liberal senator on where the party went wrongCBy Caitlin RawlingTasmanian Liberal senator Jonathon Duniam was on Sky News earlier this morning and was asked where he thinks the party went wrong, particularly in his state.He says it came down to the fact they had a "bad campaign that was run out of the campaign headquarters on the mainland"."Many of us on the ground right across the country, [including] me here in Tasmania, saw some pretty alarming signs, which we fed in but were ignored," he told Sky News."We had bad pollsters giving us bad numbers, way off the mark, totally out of line with all of the published polling."Our own polling here in Tasmania pointed to the wipe-out we ultimately got," he says.He says there are some people in the campaign headquarters who are going to have to answer questions about what went wrong for the Liberal Party."The bottom line is though, as a party, we've got to rebuild, and that's the task ahead of us".ReactReactCopy link1h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 10:58pmHow did polls underestimate Labor's victory?JBy Joshua BoscainiAs opinion polls firmed against Peter Dutton in the final weeks of the election campaign, Labor and Liberal operatives warned the numbers could be wrong, just like in 2019.In the end they were wrong, but in the other direction.Read more from my colleague Tom Crowley below.Most polls underestimated Labor. How did they get it wrong?ReactReactCopy link1h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 10:47pm📹: Penny Wong says Chinese Australians were concerned about comments from Liberal PartyJBy Joshua BoscainiLoading...ReactReactCopy link1h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 10:44pmCharlotte Mortlock says conservative women will find a new political home if Liberals don't address female representationJBy Joshua BoscainiCharlotte Mortlock says Liberal Party-aligned women will find a new political home if the party doesn't address the under- representation of women."We have women who have centre-right politically aligned values, or conservative values, and they are desperate to contribute to our democracy," she says."If we do not create that home for them, they will build a new house and we have only ourselves to blame."She says Peter Dutton did not have enough people "plugged in" to the female demographic, judging by the lack of policies for women in the Coalition's campaign."The second I saw that work from home policy it was like a lightning bolt."I was just horrified, because I knew that that was going to be something that was a repellent in so many seats across the country."ReactReactCopy linkKey Event1h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 10:40pmAmbitious men preventing Liberal women from being elected, Charlotte Mortlock saysJBy Joshua BoscainiJust looping back to an interview earlier on ABC Radio National Breakfast this morning.Charlotte Mortlock, from Hilma's Network, an organisation aimed at promoting Liberal Party-minded women, says her party has a brand issue.Mortlock says not much has changed in the Liberal Party since the 1990s. She's attributed that lack of change to ambitious men in the party."The second there is a conflict between their own ambitions and actually creating reform that would create cultural and systemic changes that are needed to make our party more electable, to make us have a potential future, that's all dashed, it all goes out the window and it all gets swept under the rug until the next election loss," she says.She says the party needs to shift its focus away from setting targets and towards adopting quotas.Mortlock points out that the average Liberal Party member is a man in his 70s, while the average Australian is a woman in her 30s."The voting bloc has changed. We know boomers are a smaller bloc than Gen Z and Millennials. We know that women want to see more women in parliament and we've been so slow to meet those demands ... that is impacting us," she says."If we are going to continue to be hamstrung to a membership that is that disconnected to society, then we deserve to keep losing."Calls grow for gender quota within Liberal party - ABC listenReactReactCopy link1h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 10:26pmICYMI: Bridget McKenzie admits Coalition campaign failures on Q+AJBy Jason WhittakerThere was a frank assessment of the Coalition's election campaign on the ABC's Q+A last night, with Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie admitting the party's scuttled return-to-work plan was a vote loser."If I'm really honest, the work from home policy really made them turn off," she says."Women … were interested in what the Coalition had to say about addressing cost of living, and unfortunately that particular policy made them think that we weren't interested in flexibility in workplaces."McKenzie says the Coalition was losing younger voters due to a poor communications strategy too focused on traditional media, even praising her political rivals."I think the Greens have cottoned on to how they communicate with women a lot better. The Labor Party has adopted a different way of communicating. And we need to do the same," McKenzie says.ReactReactCopy link2h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 10:19pmMcKenzie says there was 'no one issue' that caused Coalition's lossJBy Joshua BoscainiBridget McKenzie has told ABC Radio National Breakfast a numbers of issues caused the Coalition's loss."There are issues around the campaign, research, communication, policy, etc and tactics and strategy."Asked if some of the Coalition's policies were too closely aligned with US President Donald Trump, McKenzie says Trump isn't a conservative.She says Labor benefited from being an incumbent government during global uncertainty."He [Trump] is literally ripping down institutions in reaction to a political class in America which is very different to the political class here in Australia. We have compulsory voting which pairs us to the centre and with good reason," she says.McKenzie says she hopes all the factors will be examined thoroughly in a review.She wouldn't be drawn on whether nuclear energy would cease to be the Coalition's policy.ReactReactCopy link2h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 10:07pmBridget McKenzie says it will be 'very tough' for deputy Nationals leader to retain seatJBy Joshua BoscainiNationals senator Bridget McKenzie has joined ABC Radio National Breakfast and says the result in the seat of Bendigo, currently held by Labor, will be very close.Asked about the potential that Nationals deputy leader Perin Davey will lose her Senate seat in NSW, McKenzie says it's going to be "very, very tough" for her to hold it at this stage.Sally Sara has asked McKenzie whether she would put her hand up to be deputy leader. She says she won't discuss party room matters."As is typical in our party room, all positions will be open post an election," she says.McKenzie says the vote counting needs to finish before the Nationals can have discussions about increased representation in a Coalition frontbench.She says there needs to be a "deep" examination of what happened this election.ReactReactCopy link2h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:55pmDiscussion about Voice in last week of campaign 'a beat-up', Wong saysJBy Joshua BoscainiPenny Wong has been asked on Sky News about the make-up of the next Labor frontbench.She says it is up to caucus and the prime minister to make decisions about who to include in the Albanese government ministry."The prime minister has made clear his view about some of the senior leadership and us staying in our roles," she says.Asked about comments she made in a Betoota Talks podcast on the Voice to Parliament before election day, Wong says the Liberal Party were too focused on the Voice."Rather than talk about the issues that really matter to Australians which were cost of living, Medicare, health, education, rather than talk about how we maintain steady leadership in a time of great uncertainty — most Australians were not where the Liberal Party were on those issues. It was a beat-up, we've made clear the Voice is gone," she says.ReactReactCopy linkKey Event2h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:51pmPenny Wong says Liberals do not represent middle AustraliaJBy Joshua BoscainiForeign Minister Penny Wong says the Liberal Party does not represent middle Australia after Labor's victory on Saturday."We see that in the seat results in the suburbs and cities of this country," she tells Sky News."Families looked at the Liberal Party and said: 'You don't represent my hopes, aspirations or reflect my concerns.'"Wong says the war in Gaza was not a central issue in the election campaign and that Australians were more focused on cost of living.Responding to the US president's announcement about slapping 100 per cent tariffs on foreign-made films, Wong says she hopes Donald Trump can see the that the US and Australian film industries can collaborate."We hope that President Trump, in the context of discussions with his [film studios], will come to see the extent to which the Australian and American film industries do work together to the benefit of both countries," she says.ReactReactCopy linkKey Event2h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:30pmAmanda Rishworth says US tariffs on foreign-made films 'unjustified'JBy Joshua BoscainiLabor minister Amanda Rishworth has appeared on Nine, where she said the government was not going to take her party's election result for granted.Asked how Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would respond to the latest tariff announcement from the United States — this time on foreign-made films — Rishworth said the government would argue that they were unjustified."The prime minister said yesterday that there was a discussion about tariffs. I know that our whole team, including the prime minister, the foreign minister, the trade minister, will be making a very strong case that these are just unjustified tariffs," she says.Amanda Rishworth has been asked whether she knows if she'll keep her portfolio in a cabinet reshuffle.She says there's a process underway and it's up to the prime minister to choose those portfolios."I am happy to serve in whatever he chooses for me," she says.ReactReactCopy linkKey Event2h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:27pmMatt Canavan says Coalition has 'left our fighting spirit behind'JBy Joshua BoscainiNationals senator Matt Canavan says he was shocked by the scale of the Coalition's defeat on Saturday.Canavan told Sky News he thought the Coalition didn't have "enough to fight for" this election campaign."Politics is not like designing a new car — you don't just add a new bit of mirrors and power steering or what have you. Politics is about heart, it's about passion, it's about ambition, it's about a purpose to improve people's lives," he says. "I think we've left our fighting spirit behind in the past few years and we have become too timid, too scared about being criticised."He says the discussion should not be about how the Liberal Party should be saved, but rather how the country can be saved.Asked how his party will appeal to a city voting bloc, Canavan says the Coalition needs to turn its attention to winning over outer-suburban communities, which he described as a "forgotten frontier".ReactReactCopy link3h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:20pm'We can't fatten the pig on market day'JBy Joshua BoscainiArthur Sinodinos says housing needs to be the number one priority for any government and need to be treated as a crisis.He tells ABC Radio National Breakfast there are a lot of issues that can be addressed in line with Liberal Party values, but he says the party needs a plan to address them."We can't fatten the pig on market day. You've got to put in the work beforehand and that requires, ultimately, leadership. It is leadership that will drive the party to do this," he says."The situation in the Liberal Party is dire but it is not terminal. The Liberal Party is one of the great election-winning machines in Australia and it can win again but only if we do the hard work."Asked what role US President Donald Trump has played this election, Sinodinos says Australians have opted for "relaxed and comfortable over a leap into the unknown".ReactReactCopy linkKey Event3h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:15pmArthur Sinodinos says Coalition campaign looked 'ad hoc' and 'reactive'JBy Joshua BoscainiFormer Liberal minister Arthur Sinodinos says the Liberal Party has a structural issue and needs to change.Sinodinos tells ABC Radio National Breakfast that increasing female representation is important for the party going forward, and that culture wars will not win the Coalition government."This is not about wokeness or political correctness; it's about, when we look in the mirror, do we represent the community we aspire to represent? And that is the challenge going forward," he says."We looked as if were doing this in an ad hoc and reactive way. The grievance politics was not enough. We had to have our own coherent plan and we didn't."He says the nature of Australia's compulsory, preferential voting means the Liberal Party needs to pitch its message to a "broad tent"."You have to go to people where they are rather than shove your own ideology down their neck," he says.'Structural issue': Sinodinos urges Liberals to return to core principles - ABC listenReactReactCopy link3h agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:08pmLiberal MP blames poor communication for party's lossEBy Evelyn ManfieldLiberal member for Durack in WA, Melissa Price, who was one of the few Liberals to have a swing towards her, says poor communication was a key reason for her party's election failure."For example, if you put our housing policy up against Labor's policy … I would say ours was a better policy, but if you are unable to communicate that message to people who you want to hear your message, then you're failing," she says.Price also points to an unsuccessful social media campaign."People that I've spoken to since the election or leading up to the election, people under the age of 40 … when they've given me their opinion, they've said that they didn't think our social media was cutting through and, you know, that's a big problem," she says.She says the result had nothing to do with the quality of the candidates, but is unwilling to blame former leader Peter Dutton either.ReactReactCopy linkShow more postsPosted 3h ago3 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:00pm, updated 15m ago15 minutes agoTue 6 May 2025 at 12:07amShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)TimelineRead nextCommentsTimelineKey EventsLatest'We treat housing as an investment in Australia not as a human right': Pocock28m ago28 minutes agoMon 5 May 2025 at 11:54pmNationals deputy leader says fall in Liberal vote costed her re-election to senate1h ago1 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 11:14pmAmbitious men preventing Liberal women from being elected, Charlotte Mortlock says1h ago1 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 10:40pmPenny Wong says Liberals do not represent middle Australia2h ago2 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:51pmAmanda Rishworth says US tariffs on foreign-made films 'unjustified'2h ago2 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:30pmMatt Canavan says Coalition has 'left our fighting spirit behind'2h ago2 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:27pmArthur Sinodinos says Coalition campaign looked 'ad hoc' and 'reactive'3h ago3 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:15pmCalls to consider gender quotas in the Liberal Party3h ago3 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:07pmGood morning 👋3h ago3 hours agoMon 5 May 2025 at 9:00pmTop StoriesSea of solar gives a clue why Australians chose batteries over nuclear Topic:Energy PolicyPhoto shows Electricians place solar panels on roofGreens' Adam Bandt in danger as seat of Melbourne remains on knife's edgeTopic:ElectionsAfter millions of dollars and texts, Trumpet of Patriots fails to deliverTopic:ElectionsThe timeline prosecutors allege in the mushroom murder trialTopic:ExplainerGreenland's problem? 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