Labor wins marginal NSW seat of Gilmore, no more lower house seats in doubt

The ABC projects that Labor has won the seat of Gilmore in New South Wales, taking the government to 77 seats in the House of Representatives.

Key points:

Labor MP Fiona Phillips will retain the seat she first won in 2019, which means former NSW transport minister Andrew Constance has been unsuccessful in his bid to move to federal parliament.

The ABC has also this afternoon projected a Liberal win in Deakin, leaving no more lower house seats in doubt.

The Coalition will have 58 seats in the 47th parliament, the Greens have won four seats, and there are 12 other crossbenchers.

Earlier this afternoon Labor claimed the seat, with Ms Phillips saying the party was confident it would be retained.

“NSW Labor has made the decision to call the seat of Gilmore to me,” she said.

“We have seen again a strong trend towards me with the absentee vote, which is very unlikely, and I am just thrilled with the result.

“The last week has been very harrowing and very hard and there has been a lot of interest in Gilmore. People have been stopping me in the street and willing me to get across the line.”

Ms Phillips said the key to her victory had been building strong local connections.

“That’s right across the electorate from Minnamurra in the north to Tuross Heads in the south. I have been lucky to have made those connections and they have really supported me.”

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Former state MP acknowledged

Ms Phillips paid tribute to her Liberal challenger Andrew Constance.

“It was always going to be difficult having Andrew Constance as my opponent,” she said.

Andrew Constance was a state MP between 2003 and 2021.(ABC Illawarra: Tim Fernandez)

“He has been a local member for 18 years and a minister, he has a lot of recognition and I really respect that as well, so it was always going to be difficult for me and I had no illusion about that whatsoever.”

This morning Ms Phillips sat quietly at the back of the first caucus meeting of the new Anthony Albanese Labor Government, watching as the new members were introduced to the party room.

Mr Albanese made sure to pay tribute to her and cheer on her chances.

“Thanks to my good friend Fiona, sitting up the back there,” he said.

“Fiona ran a magnificent campaign. If she gets across the line no-one is allowed to call her Fiona anymore — they have to call her 77.”

Mr Constance has been contacted for comment.

Election news: Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 4 minutes 53 seconds4m 53s Labor will govern in its own right securing 76 seats

Posted 9h ago9 hours agoTue 31 May 2022 at 5:30am, updated 7h ago7 hours agoTue 31 May 2022 at 7:45am