An emotional Peter Dutton, supported by his wife Kirilly Dutton and two of their three children, sons Tom and Harry, conceded defeat as the leader of the Liberal Party and as the Member for Dickson.

He apologised to the Liberals who lost their seats and to the team behind him. He said he had called the Prime Minister to congratulate him and accepted full responsibility for the dramatic loss.

“I called the Prime Minister to congratulate him on his success tonight. It’s a historic occasion for the Labor Party — we recognise that.”

“I congratulated the Prime Minister and wished Jodie Haydon and Nathan all the very best. I said to the Prime Minister that his mum would be incredibly proud of his achievement tonight, and he should be very proud of what he’s achieved,” said Peter Dutton.

He said he had the “pleasure of speaking with Ali France,” who is now the Member for Dickson.

“I congratulated the Prime Minister and wished Jodie Haydon and Nathan all the very best. I said to the Prime Minister that his mum would be incredibly proud of his achievement tonight, and he should be very proud of what he’s achieved” Peter Dutton

“Ali and I go back over a number of elections now, but she was successful in Dickson tonight… she will do a good job as the local member.”

Dutton became visibly emotional when he said, “Ali lost her son Henry, which is a tragic circumstance that no parent should ever go through. I said her son Henry would be incredibly proud of her tonight.”

He went on to acknowledge David Littleproud, the leader of the National Party, as a “great partner in crime” who “led with great distinction.”

Dutton said his proudest moment was serving as Defence Minister, giving weight to the sentiment that the worst job in politics is that of opposition leader.

Dutton said that Dickson “had a one-term curse — it was only ever held for one term at a time — and we’ve held it for 24 years, which is an amazing achievement.”

This was possibly one of the worst conservative losses in Australia’s modern history and a salient lesson on what not to do in an election.