As the Coalition were swept into power last weekend there were mixed fortunes for Greek Australian candidates, and the fate of some is still on a knife-edge, with pre-poll and postal votes deciding the outcome.
The swing against Labor took its toll, with the ever popular Steve Georganas losing the Adelaide seat of Hindmarsh.
Georganas, who represented Hindmarsh for nine years, was philosophical in defeat, telling Neos Kosmos: “We all knew it was going to be touch and go, my seat was the most marginal, that’s politics.”
Much of Georganas’ defeat, he said, stemmed from changes in voting patterns along the more affluent beachside areas of his electorate.
“All I was hearing throughout the campaign in those areas was ‘Great bloke Steve, you’ve done a wonderful job – wrong party.'”
Meanwhile, fellow ALP member Maria Vamvakinou was returned in the Melbourne inner-city seat of Calwell despite a swing to the Liberals of 6.1 per cent.
Vamvakinou, who polled over 60 per cent of the vote after preferences, when asked to reflect on the national situation said: “The challenge now for federal Labor is to get its house in order.
“We need to reconnect with a constituency that is by and large angry with us.”
On Friday another Labor MP Peter Freeleagus felt that anger. In the Queensland seat of Capricornia, Freeleagus conceded defeat as the vote count saw the LNP’s Michelle Landry 625 votes ahead.
Freeleagus said that despite leading the count for five days since the election, the latest results made it clear he could not win.
“People on the ground are indicating that probably we could’ve waited another day,” he said.
“But as I’ve always said, an urban vote always goes to the ballot box and a rural vote goes to an envelope.”
Other results too close to call are shaping the destinies of Sophie Mirabella and Senator Arthur Sinodinos, where the results for the lower house seat of Indi and the NSW Senate seats are still up for grabs.
Mirabella, who was destined for a ministerial position in Tony Abbott’s cabinet, looks likely to have her political future snatched away by Independent Cathy McGowan, who led Indi’s sitting MP by 1144 votes on Thursday evening.
Another ministerial ambition may possibly be in danger with Arthur Sinodinos’ Senate seat facing a challenge from the cross preferencing of micro-parties including the pro-gun Liberal Democrat candidate David Leyonhjelm.
Leyonhjelm’s party appeared in the top left hand corner of the ballot paper and many voters appeared to mistake them for the Liberal Party.
Meanwhile the Liberal’s Nickolas Varvaris, who contested the seat of Barton, is waiting to see if he has ended Labor’s hold in south Sydney. The Kogarah mayor is currently leading by a hair’s breadth and could well reap the benefit of a 6.8 per cent swing in the seat formerly held by Robert McLelland.
The irrepressible Nick Xenophon was returned as a senator for South Australia by a whopping 25 per cent – a national record for an independent or minor party.
Xenophon’s result, which took primary votes from both Labor and the Liberals, is expected to deliver one Labor senator and two Liberal senators to Canberra. Xenophon this week called for an overhaul of the Senate electoral system after complex preferencing arrangements between micro parties looks likely to result in seats for parties who had very few votes.
Labor
Steve Georganas
Hindmarsh
House of Representatives
With a swing to the Liberals of 7.8 per cent after preferences, Georganas was defeated by the Libs’ Matt Williams in Adelaide’s western suburbs. The vote count on first preference was 36,553 to the Liberals and 30,263 to Labor.
Maria Vamvakinou
Calwell
House of Representatives
Despite a swing to the Liberals of 6.1 per cent, Vamvakinou’s count after preferences was 48,899 compared to the Liberal candidate’s 27,577, giving her nearly 70 per cent of the vote.
Peter Freeleagus
Capricornia
House of Representatives
Held by Labor since 1998, sitting member Peter Freeleagus conceded defeat yesterday as the vote count saw the LNP’s Michelle Landry 625 votes ahead. Having led for most of the week, postal votes in the central Queensland seat were his undoing.
Liberal
Sophie Mirabella
Indi
House of Representatives
Mirabella’s hold on Indi by a 9 per cent margin at the last election has been slashed by Independent Cathy McGowan. 1000 misplaced votes for McGowan identified on Wednesday may decide the outcome. Postal and pre-poll votes are still being counted. Mirabella pulled out of consideration for a place in Tony Abott’s cabinet.
Arthur Sinodinos
NSW
Senate
The positioning of a Liberal Democrat candidate at the top of a 110-strong Senate candidate list for NSW gives that candidate an outside chance of knocking off Sinodinos because voters were confused about who they were actually voting for. Sinodinos’ result may take a further two weeks to become clear.
George Souris
Batman
House of Representatives
Souris received 16,425 votes compared to Labor David Feeney’s 31,171 and the Greens’ 19,229 on first preference. As in 2010, Souris came in third place after preferences.
Nickolas Varvaris
Barton
House of Representatives
Still too close to call, Varvaris is on the threshold of a historic victory, overturning Labor’s 30 year hold on the seat. The ALP has suffered a 6.8 per cent swing against them in Barton compared to around 3.5 per cent against Labor nationally. 10,000 absentee and postal votes are to be counted over the next two weeks. Many of these will come from elderly people who tend to lean towards the conservative side of politics.
Independent
Nick Xenophon
South Australia
Senate
Xenophon increased his vote to around 25 per cent, a few per cent short of two quotas. With the prospect of an 18-member cross-bench, of which the Motoring Enthusiast and Sports parties look to win a Senate seat, Australia’s most successful Independent Senator has vowed to seek reforms to the Senate system.
Other
Australian Christians
Danielle Canas
Pearce
House of Representatives
Canas won 1445 votes on first preferences, 2.04 per cent of the vote.
Australian Christians
Frank Papafitou
Victoria
Senate
The Australian Christians won 1978 ticket votes in Victoria. After preferences their final vote was 11,535 or 0.48 per cent of the vote.
Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group)
Manny Poularas
McMahon
House of Representatives
Won by Labor’s Chris Bowen, Poularas attracted 1899 votes on first preferences, 2.7 per cent of the vote.
Citizens Electoral Council
Costas Goumas
Eden-Monaro
House of Representatives
Merimbula restauranteur Goumas received the support of 146 voters.
No Carbon Tax Climate Sceptics
Bill Koutalianos
NSW
Senate
Koutalianos polled 721 votes. After preferences the No Carbon Tax Climate Sceptics’ vote was 5642 in NSW, 0.17 per cent of the vote
Palmer United Party
George Melissourgos
Hindmarsh
House of Representatives
Melissourgos took 1855 votes in the poll that unseated Labor’s Steve Georganas.
Rise Up Australia Party
Melanie Vassiliou
Chisholm
House of Representatives
530 votes
Rise Up Australia Party
Peter Vassiliou
Hotham
House of Representatives
1182 votes
Socialist Alliance
Liah Lazarou
Adelaide
House of Representatives
776 votes
WikiLeaks Party
Gerry Georgatos
WA
Senate
The Wikileaks Party in WA polled 205 ticket votes, with the group votes after preferences totalling 6199 or 0.71 per cent. The party’s best showing was in Victoria with 1.18 per cent of the primary vote, where Julian Assange was the lead candidate for the Senate. No Wikileaks candidates won election.