#AusVotes2019IA: Federal Election LIVE BLOG

Summing up the mood

A last thought for the night

We will continue this blog tomorrow until a government is formed. Pre-polling and preferences haven't concluded and the Liberals do not have enough seats to form government yet. There is hope! 

Labor still in with a chance

It's possible they might be able to form a minority government.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out

In case you are feeling depressed by the result as they come in, remember this: Tony Abbott is gone!

Abbott loses Warringah after huge primary vote for Steggall https://t.co/Mu1oiTmbw3 via @smh

— Dave Donovan (@davrosz) May 18, 2019

Well done Zali Steggall!!

Also, hot tip, don't watch Channel Seven. It's toxic!

BREAKING: Tony Abbott learns a new word

Early days

For my sins, I am watching the Sky News election coverage. I enjoy it, because they get really angry with each other when it looks like the Tories are going to lose.

My first takeaway is that even though less than 1 per cent of the votes have been counted, the Coalition stooges in the Sky commentary team – including former Labor minister Graham Richardson – are getting excited by every early result favouring the Coalition.

For example, this from 2015:

As Independent Rob Oakeshott just said, with the sitting Cowper MP currently winning, the early counts are usually from the outlying small booths, which almost always favour the conservatives.

Deceptive Liberal Party signs breach the Electoral Act

The Labor Party has lodged an official complaint with the AEC over signs displayed across a number of electorates, in AEC colours, written in Mandarin and indicating the "correct" way to vote is by putting a number "1" next to the Liberal candidate. The signs breach the Electoral Act.

Always on the ball, Liberal Senator James Patterson had this to say:

The world according to Dutton

Peter Dutton on ABC just now:

"People are coming up to me and saying, 'we've never voted for you before but we're going to vote for you this time...'

People have the baseball bats out for Bill Shorten."

Um, ohh-kay then.

Election night checklist

Are you prepared for election night?

Here's a handy checklist:

Okay, I'm ready:
✅ voting completed;
✅ phone fully charged;
✅ iPad fully charged;
✅ alcohol chilling;
✅ snacks ready;
✅ TV remote, at hand
✅ TV on standby
Anything else I need?#AusVotes2019IA

— Madame Kas 🤭 for Bob (@keskes60) May 17, 2019

Just a rumour mind but heard Clive lent LNP some of his billions...

For further info and advice see the post directly below this one.

Thanks for the text, Libbers

Is there anything better than receiving a morning spam text from Liberal Party HQ.

Yes there is! Replying to that text with mild profanity. 

Apparently, this election will be very close! #AusVotes2019IA pic.twitter.com/HCuymUJUG9

— Dave Donovan (@davrosz) May 18, 2019

So close!

This election is looking like it will be a cliffhanger, alright!

— Dave Donovan (@davrosz) May 18, 2019

The reckoning is here

There should be an election eve #Newspoll coming out tonight. Based on my observations, the last Newspoll before an election is when Murdoch allows the results to come back into line with voters' actual intentions. Rather than acting as an elaborate push poll, as it usually is.
~ Dave Donovan

And here it is folks:

We have you surrounded

Just eew!

Last plea for New England

Beat that ScoMo and Bill...

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There's one born every minute

Investigations editor Ross Jones thinks there's a growing devide between political pollsters and bookies.

There's a pundit born every m

The election has already been run and won, according to Sportsbet. pic.twitter.com/7te86i8KYQ

— Dave Donovan (@davrosz) May 15, 2019

inute, Ross.

— Dave Donovan (@davrosz) May 17, 2019

My point is that if the pollsters were so reliable, why don't the bookies trust them even slightly?

You can follow managing editor Dave Donovan on Twitter @davrosz. Follow Independent Australia on Twitter at @independentaus and on Facebook HERE.

Is Bill Shorten a chip off the old block?

I said love, I said pet, I said ScoMo

Last plea to the people of Hume

Surprise, surprise!

Last plea to the people of Dickson

Green eyebrows a-crunching

John Howard is back in the news. Well, ABC News 24, anyway, which can't seem to get enough of the wretched old war criminal.

Howard now defending Tony Abbott's partisan eulogy for Bob Hawke, yesterday, picking up the ball to attack Labor.
Classy, Howard, classy.#AusVotes2019IA

— Dave Donovan (@davrosz) May 17, 2019

Another fan favourite is Antony Green, who will deliver, for sure, as ever, a seamless performance as the ABC's ace psephologist on Saturday night

Antony Green will be crunching the numbers tomorrow night on the ABC, they say.
If the past is any guide, I expect many of these crunchy numbers to prove to be too hard for Green's equipment to process, and will leap out and scuttle across the ABC studio floor, trying to escape.

— Dave Donovan (@davrosz) May 17, 2019

Labor is heading for victory tomorrow night

Managing editor David Donovan predicted the ALP would win comfortably tomorrow night, with the result being called early in the night. 
Is he crazy, or does he know something.
Read Dave's prognostications below. 

You have heard the other election predictions: "This election is too close to call"; "This election favours Labor, but it'll be tight!"
Gutless wonders.
Well my prognostications are not to diffident. They're included in this piece: https://t.co/7eY4D3psa0 @IndependentAus

— Dave Donovan (@davrosz) May 16, 2019