Screenshot from ABC website.
Projection based on preference count for the seat of Dickson.
Labor Party, Ali France, Vote: 53.4%
Liberal National Party, Peter Dutton, 46.6%
Screenshot from Guardian article. Text reads:
Liberal senator James Paterson has appeared to back Peter Duttonβs leadership of the opposition in the event the Coalition loses the election.
Paterson, speaking to Channel 9βs Peter Stefanovic from the Liberalsβ election night event in Brisbane, said this when asked about Peter Duttonβs leadership:
Iβm very proud to have served Peter in this term of Parliament. Heβs a great man. You know him, I know him. Heβs a really good person and he always puts the national interest first. So if he wants to continue to serve in public life in any capacity, Iβd welcome that.
Paterson also said it was too early to jump to conclusions, and that the Coalitionβs internal polling suggests there can be as much as an 8% difference between on the day votes and pre-poll votes, with the latter form favouring the Coalition.
Paterson also had this to say of the Labor campaign in Dickson, where Dutton appears to be in trouble:
Labor absolutely went for Peter in this campaign. More than any campaign previously. They poured in an enormous amount of money and he also had Climate 200 funding a candidate to try and tear him down, plus a national advertising campaign from Labor in the tens of millions of dollars. It was very personal and very targeted to him. So, look, Iβm not surprised if that has an effect.
Early vote counting tonight suggests Peter Dutton's political career could be about to end.
The Spud is cooked.
Dutton has little hope of retaining his seat of Dickson, and even if he does, his role as Leader of the Opposition is gone.
The kiss of death has come [β¦]
[Original post on rants.au]