Bennelong by-election: Liberal John Alexander will win Bennelong by-election, Antony Green predicts
Updated
The Liberal Party's John Alexander has won the crucial by-election in the federal Sydney seat of Bennelong.
Key points:
- The Liberal Party will retain the seat with a margin of 9.7 per cent
- Antony Green says the results show that while there is a swing to Labor but not big enough for a win
- If the Liberals had lost, the Federal Government would have lost its one-seat majority in the Lower House
There was a lot riding on the result — if the Liberals lost the Federal Government would have lost its one-seat majority in the Lower House.
Mr Green said Mr Alexander would be re-elected as the Bennelong MP despite a swing of about 5 per cent to his Labor opponent Kristina Keneally.
The Liberal Party hold the seat with a margin of 9.7 per cent.
Mr Alexander resigned last month after he was caught up in the citizenship fiasco, when he became concerned he was a British dual citizen, paving the way for the dirty and personal by-election battle.
Mr Alexander's campaign was hindered by allegations he delayed revealing his constitutional concerns, and accusations the Coalition is running anti-China rhetoric in its attack on outgoing Labor senator Sam Dastyari.
"This is an extraordinary moment for us. The last four or five weeks have been a tumultuous time and it has been a real battle," Mr Alexander said.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull joined Mr Alexander to claim victory in front of Liberal Party supporters in Bennelong.
"John, you are Bennelong's champion just as you have been Australia's champion," he said.
Earlier, Ms Keneally addressed Labor Party supporters to concede defeat, saying the Turnbull Government should be worried about the swing seen in Bennelong.
"It seems like we are going to achieve about 5.5 to 6 per cent swing to the Labor Party. Friends, that is in a safe Liberal seat," Ms Keneally said.
"Let's just understand what this means. If this result was replicated at a general election we would see 24 to 28 seats fall."
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten also addressed the crowd, saying he was confident the swing to Labor was a sign of things to come.
"If Labor could replicate this swing, which was accomplished by all of you, led by Kristina, in Bennelong, I have no doubt that at a general election Labor will form a government," Mr Shorten said.
Labor picked the former NSW premier to go up against Mr Alexander to capitalise on the saga, but the Coalition repeatedly attacked her record in state politics.
The journalist was the state's leader from 2009 to 2011.
Ms Keneally claimed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was "China-phobic" and pledged to "stand up for the Chinese community in Bennelong".
Topics: government-and-politics, elections, political-parties, alp, liberals, nsw, australia, ryde-2112
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