Melbourne’s western and northern suburbs held strong for Labor as Anthony Albanese was returned as prime minister on Saturday.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton conceded the election at 9.30pm and congratulated Mr Albanese.
As of 9.30pm, Labor was ahead in 72 seats and projected to pick up a few more.
Bendigo
Labor’s Lisa Chesters is ahead in the count in the seat of Bendigo, despite signs of a 7 per cent swing against her.
As of 9pm, the AEC had counted the first preference votes from 78 per cent of polling booths, with Ms Chesters leading the count 32.97 per cent to the Nationals’ 27.83 per cent.
Nationals’ candidate Andrew Lethlean had a 26.5 per cent increase in his primary vote, according to the AEC.
The AEC had no two-candidate preferred data available.
The seat of Bendigo covers an area of 6178 square kilometres, with some of the Macedon Ranges towns within its borders including Kyneton, Malmsbury, Tylden, and Carlsruhe.
Ms Chesters has held the seat since 2013.
Prior to the election, Labor enjoyed a margin of 11.2 per cent.
McEwen
McEwen was tipped to be one of the seats to watch this election and attracted a number of promises from both major parties. But as of 9pm, the AEC was predicting that Labor’s Rob Mitchell would not only hold on to the seat but would enjoy a 2.21 per cent swing towards him.
The AEC was projecting that Mr Mitchell would win the seat 56.03 per cent compared to Liberal candidate Jason McClintock’s 43.97 per cent on a two-party basis.
Prior to the election, Mr Mitchell held McEwen by 3.8 per cent, making it a marginal electorate.
He has held the seat since 2010.
The electorate covers 2288 square kilometres across Victoria’s north and north-east, sweeping through Gisborne, Macedon, Wallan, Whittlesea and Diamond Creek.
Hawke
Hawke MP Sam Rae attracted a small swing in line with the broader ALP swing nationally to comfortably retain Hawke.
As of 9pm on election night, the Australian Electoral Commission predicted a 1.7 per cent swing to Labor in Hawke which was created in 2022 after a boundary redistribution.
Mr Rae attracted 59.3 of the two party preferred vote compared to 40.6 per cent for his Liberal rival Simmone Cottom.
Covering 1986 square kilometres and including Sunbury, Melton, Bacchus Marsh, and Ballan, the electorate was first contested at the last election.
The seat was visited by opposition leader Peter Dutton four times during the campaign.
