Sunday, August 22, 2010

While we're hanging around, what's up in the Senate.

With the news focus firmly on the probability that Australia will have a hung parliament, what is happening for minor parties such as Family First and Christian Democratic Party in the Senate.

According to the latest figures from the Australian Electoral Commission, South Australian Family First candidate Bob Day is still in with the slimmest of chances of winning the sixth Senate seat.

Family First SA has 32,323 votes or .285 of a quota. However the Greens have .93 of a quota, Liberals 2.57 quotas and Labor  2.72 quotas. Which means only four of six seats are definitely decided and the final two will depend on the completion of counting and, possibly, the flow of preferences.

Family First can expect to rise on the preferences of some other minor parties but it is a slim chance indeed that they would get ahead of either Liberal, Labor or Green for the sixth senate seat. But it's not impossible and it certainly a night for the unlikely.

In WA's Seante race, the CDP polled 10,973 votes but were behind the Australian Sex Party with more than 13,000 votes. Most of the sex party preferences will flow to the Greens and there is not enough votes among other minor parties preferencing CDP to see them reach a quota.

In NSW the CDP polled about 60,000 votes, putting them ahead of the Australian Sex Party but behind the Shooters and Fishers Party. family First polled 27,706 in their first serious Senate attempt in NSW.

It will be interesting to see if the preferencing decisions of CDP and Family First affect their success in the election. Both preferenced Liberal before each other.

1 comment:

  1. SA: It looks like Bob Day would have got it if Libs were .5% less and ALP/Greens were .5% more.

    NSW: CDP & FF not supporting each other gave them no chance. It looks like if FF & DLP had supported CDP, CDP would have got in with help from the Shooters etc.

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