Labor extends its victory as Basem Abdo secures Calwell, growing Anthony Albanese's super majority in the lower house
Sky News Chief Election Analyst Tom Connell has confirmed that Labor candidate Basem Abdo has won the seat of Calwell in Victoria.
The result means the Albanese government has retained every single seat in the federal election for the first time since 1966.
Mr Abdo's win secures the 94th seat for Labor, increasing its super majority in the House of Representatives.
The Coalition will have 44 seats, assuming that Liberal Party candidate Gisele Kapterian wins in the seat of Bradfield, which has gone to a recount.
Sky News called the seat for Mr Abdo on Friday and confirmed the outcome when it was revealed independent Carly Moore would place second above Liberal Usman Ghani.
The seat of Calwell was described as the most complicated count in election history with 13 candidates.
The result comes as the Australian Electoral Commission agrees to partially recount votes in Goldstein after Teal MP Zoe Daniel refused to concede defeat.
Ms Daniel had called for a full recount, but the AEC rejected this, instead engaging in a partial recount to ensure the 'greatest level of confidence' in the result.
In a statement, the commission said the distribution of preferences had "some discrepancies", but that these were "not uncommon".
"The recount request submitted by Independent candidate Zoe Daniel was carefully considered and instructive but not determinative," the AEC said.
"Her request for a full recount has not been granted."
The move follows Ms Daniel's refusal to accept the election result after a three-week count showed she had lost the seat by 260 votes.
Ms Daniel, who claimed victory on election night, later argued that there were 'several errors' identified in the distribution of preferences.
'There are also several outstanding questions regarding the broader count, which would be resolved by a recount,' she said in a statement over the weekend.
During the count, the margin for Mr Wilson was as high as 444 at one point before it flowed back to Ms Daniel, resulting in her loss by 260 votes.
Ms Daniel's refusal to concede has drawn scrutiny in light of her past statements on electoral legitimacy.
In November 2020, while working as a journalist, she criticised US President Donald Trump for refusing to accept his loss to Joe Biden.
'Trump has to find an excuse for losing that is not himself, because he can't accept being a 'loser',' she posted on social media at the time.
'Having built a whole political career planting doubt/fear/blame and undermining trust—in this case it's democracy that he's delegitimising. Concerning, not surprising.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
Authorities worry key Madeleine McCann suspect could ‘flee and disappear' amid renewed search
Sky News contributor Sophie Elsworth has discussed the renewed search for British girl Madeleine McCann who went missing back in 2007 while she was on holiday with her parents. Ms Elsworth claims authorities are concerned that the prime key suspect, German man Christian Brueckner, may 'flee and disappear' when he's released from prison. Mr Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year sentence for rape and has always denied any involvement in Madeleine McCann's disappearance. 'They've gone back to this area near where Madeleine McCann went missing, and they're doing this giant search that will go on all week long,' Ms Elsworth told Sky News Australia.


West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Australian news and politics live: McKenzie warns Australia must rely on allies amid global threats
Scroll down for the latest news and updates. Former White House cost-cutting chief Elon Musk has taken aim at US President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful' tax and spending package, calling it a 'disgusting abomination' as the Senate moves to pass the bill before July 4. In a post on X, Mr Musk's social media platform, he wrote: 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it'. Having left the Trump Administration last week, Musk described the measure as a 'massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill.' Read the full story here. Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff's shaky hold on government is in danger of collapsing, after the opposition flagged a no-confidence motion. In his budget reply speech on Tuesday, Labor Opposition Leader Dean Winter said he would put forward the no-confidence motion in Mr Rockliff, challenging the crossbench to support it. Key independent Craig Garland said he would support the motion, telling The Australian the Liberal government's state budget last week that doubled state debt, the controversial AFL stadium project and the TT-Line ferries fiasco were keys to his decision. 'I'll be supporting a no-confidence motion in the Premier. I'm just sick to death of the arrogance and ignorance,' he said. Independent Kristie Johnston and Jacqui Lambie Network MP Andrew Jenner have also signalled support. Read the full story here. The UK is ramping up its military, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer declaring the country must be in a state of 'war-fighting readiness' amid rising global threats. Australia's government says it will not automatically follow the UK's lead, despite US calls for even higher defence spending. Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie has responded to whether Australia should be considering training up for war like the UK. 'Of course we should! I mean, we have two key allies globally, the United States and the United Kingdom. When you've got the Labour Party in the United Kingdom taking these sort of steps, when you have the United States saying we need to ramp up our investment in Defence, it's not for nothing,' she told Sunrise on Wednesday morning. 'We know we're in very challenging geopolitical times. It's not just the commentators. The threat is real. Other nations, other key allies, are taking that seriously.' She added, 'And the reality is, if we wanted to go it alone and defend ourselves, we could increase our Defence budget five times and still be falling short of being able to defend ourselves. So we need to rely on our allies. We always have.' 'And so I think Richard Marles, the Defence Minister, made the right call when the United States made this an issue. Unfortunately, the PM tried to look tough. The reality is we can't do it alone. The threat is real. And we need to step up.'

Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
'Wake up to the reality': Nationals leader David Littleproud claims 2050 net zero goal not possible without nuclear energy
Nationals leader David Littleproud has claimed Australia's goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 is not possible without nuclear energy and other 'pragmatic approaches'. Speaking to Sky News host Chris Kenny on Tuesday night, Mr Littleproud said the Labor government's 'all renewables approach' would bring a 'far more harsher' experience for Australians than just energy bills going up. 'We're living with the physical consequence of our prime agricultural land being ripped up with transmission lines, solar panels and wind turbines, and the actual natural environment's also being destroyed in trying to achieve this,' he said. On Sunday, Energy Minister Chris Bowen recommitted to expanding renewables developments across the country in order to meet ambitious emissions reductions targets and reach net zero by 2050. Mr Bowen also suggested Australia could soon introduce targeted tariffs on imports deemed emissions-intensive. Mr Littleproud said his party, which represents regional Australians, had been 'sensible' with its technology agnostic approach. 'We should have nuclear energy as part of that solution. But you should also look at countries that are looking at having a mixed energy grid, not an all renewables approach,' he said, referencing Japan. 'Japan's importing our coal and gas, burning it, capturing it, and bringing it back here and storing it here in Australia.' Asked if it was possible for a developed economy to achieve net zero by 2050, Mr Littleproud said it would not be a realistic goal 'without nuclear energy or carbon capture storage', as well as other 'pragmatic approaches' like using methane for agricultural purposes. 'Unless we see that, then obviously I think the world is going to have a realisation that's going to be very difficult. In fact, they're realising that now,' he said. 'Many of the countries that have made these grand commitments are now saying, 'look, the easy stuff has already been done, the hard stuff now is costing us a lot' and there is going to be a realisation at some point.' Mr Littleproud said Australia was 'blessed' to have sovereignty of its resources but insisted a mixed grid and 'sensible economy' was within reach. The Nationals leader added a mixed grid would give Australia with a healthy environment and create a 'far wealthier country', but called for the extreme parties in the energy debate to 'lay down their arms' and 'wake up to the reality'.