Jacqui Lambie has secured another term in the federal parliament as the latest Senate results from the 3 May election have been confirmed.
After an extensive counting period, the Australian Electoral Commission allocated preferences and concluded the results for the Senate in Tasmania and the Northern Territory on Tuesday morning.
Labor has strengthened its position in the upper house.
In the NT, as anticipated, Labor and the Coalition claimed the two seats available. Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, secured the No 1 spot; the Country Liberal party senator, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, took the second place.
In Tasmania, a total of six Senate seats were successfully secured by two Labor senators (Carol Brown and Richard Dowling), two Liberals (Claire Chandler and Richard Colbeck), the Greens’ Nick McKim, and Lambie.
Lee Hanson, the daughter of One Nation founder Pauline Hanson, failed in her bid to secure a Senate seat in Tasmania.
“I am deeply thankful to the people of Tasmania for granting me the opportunity to represent them for another six years,” Lambie shared in an email to her supporters following the confirmation of her win. “Advocating for Tasmania and bringing the concerns of the community to Canberra motivates me every day.
“While it is positive to see interest rates decreasing, for many Tasmanian families, it will offer little relief.”
The Jacqui Lambie Network, the senator’s political party, also extended their gratitude to voters on social media.
The results on Tuesday followed the AEC declaration of senators for South Australia on Monday, marking the first confirmed outcomes in the upper house.
Seats from Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory are expected to be declared on Wednesday, with Western Australia on Thursday, and New South Wales and Queensland to follow shortly afterward.
Complex counts and recounts are underway in several seats, including Calwell, Bradfield, and Goldstein, with the situation in Calwell finally decided in favor of Labor on Monday.
Labor is anticipated to hold enough Senate seats to push through legislation with the aid of either the Greens or the Coalition, reducing the necessity to rely on crossbenchers like Lambie or David Pocock.
The Coalition, which is expected to receive a key frontbench position for Price, one of the re-elected senators from the NT, is predicted to gain influence when the combined Liberal-National shadow ministry is announced this week. Her switch to the Liberal party room, rather than aligning with the Nationals, factored into the recent division within the Coalition.
