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Preston 31 May 2022(TIE)After a close race, Labor has won the Gilmore seat on the NSW south coast.
Fiona Phillips, the Gilmore MP, is set to keep her seat, bringing Labor to 77 MPs in the House of Representatives.
By the time almost every vote had been counted on Tuesday afternoon, Ms Phillips and Liberal candidate Andrew Constance were separated by only 222 votes.
Mr. Constance has yet to admit defeat in the race for the seat.
Gilmore has yet to be declared a Labor candidate by the Australian Electoral Commission. The AEC has until Friday to receive postal votes.
Ms Phillips is said to have benefited from absentee ballots, allowing her to draw ahead of Mr Constance when he recovered the lead.
Despite a 5.3 percent national swing against the Coalition, the former NSW transport minister – who was outspoken during the 2019-2020 bushfire crisis – recorded a 2.5 percent swing in his favour.
Mr. Constance resigned from the state government in 2021 to pursue a career in federal politics.
Because of Ms Phillips’ victory, the Albanese government will be able to govern independently and will be able to appoint a Labor MP as Speaker of the House instead of an independent.
