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UPDATING
SENATE – 10pm
Jacqui Lambie appears to have held her Senate seat.
At the time of writing, Labor has four quotas (which equates to four Senate seats), as does the Liberal party.
The Greens and the Jacqui Lambie Network have one seat apiece.
The remaining seats could be decided by preference flow.
The top four Liberal candidates on the Senate tickets are Eric Abetz, Stephen Parry, Jonathan Duniam, and David Bushby.
Labor’s top four spots were allocated to Anne Urquhart, Helen Polley, Carol Brown, and Catryna Bilyk.
Liberal incumbent Andrew Nikolic: 36.73 per cent
Labor candidate Ross Hart: 42.43 per cent
Greens Terrill Riley-Gibson candidate: 10.19 per cent
Votes counted: 46,720
Lyons: 9pm Brian Mitchell has claimed the seat of Lyons
Liberal incumbent Eric Hutchinson: 41.63 per cent
Labor candidate Brian Mitchell: 39.41 per cent
Greens candidate Hannah Rubenach-Quinn: 8.989 per cent
Votes counted: 55,472
Braddon: 9.30pm Labor’s Justine Keay has declared victory
Liberal incumbent Brett Whiteley: 40.87 per cent
Labor candidate Justine Keay 40.86 per cent
Greens candidate Scott Jordan: 6.54 per cent
Votes counted: 55,472
COMMENTARY
UPDATE 3.30pm Sunday:
Representing an electorate while in opposition is “an interesting apprenticeship time”, the last Braddon MHR to do so says.
Mr Sidebottom’s first six-year stint in Parliament from 1998-2004 was served while Liberal Prime Minister John Howard was in power.
“You’ve got to remember that a region elects you and in the end they’ll reject you or re-elect you,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter what party you’re in, in the end you either do the job or you get the boot, unless of course you’re lost in a tidal wave of national change.”
UPDATE 1pm Sunday:
Outgoing Lyons Liberal MHR Eric Hutchinson fronted media Sunday morning to reflect on three years as a federal member.
He said Labor benefited from an effective campaign helped along by unions and lobby group GetUp.
“I have nothing but admiration for my colleagues, in particular Andrew Nikolic, who not only did they throw the kitchen sink at him, they threw the kitchen and the bathroom and well in one of the most extraordinary examples of thuggery and bullish behaviour I think you could ever imagine,” Mr Hutchinson said.
SATURDAY
UPDATE 9.30pm: Bass Greens candidate Terrill Riley-Gibson said she was feeling good after recording a 3 per cent increase in swing votes with 70 per cent of the votes counted.
“I don’t think you can ever really predict what’s going to eventuate but I was feeling quietly confident and I think we’ve been feeling this for quite a while now,” she said.
“This is something that we’ve been working towards and were very hopeful for because we've been putting a lot of effort into."
UPDATE 9pm: Labor’s Brian Mitchell has taken the seat of Lyons from Liberal incumbent Eric Hutchinson.
UPDATE 8.20pm: Ross Hart in his victory speech thanked his campaign team and field volunteers and praised Andrew Nikolic's contribution to the Bass electorate over the past three years.
He described the win as "a famous victory".
"There is no electorate that is too blue to be turned into a red electorate," he said.
Mr Hart exclaimed "three cheers for the union movement" at the end of the speech and the room of supporters broke into song.
UPDATE 8pm: Ross Hart is the new member for Bass.
Liberal incumbent Andrew Nikolic has picked up the phone, and conceded the seat of Bass to Labor's Ross Hart.
Lyons: Liberal incumbent Eric Hutchinson said he believed he was still in the race.
“We’re not giving up at this stage, it was always going to be close,” he said.
“There’s a lot of very vulnerable people who were frightened by a whole series of lies.
“It seems to have had an impact.”
7.10pm Lyons: As the polls predicted, it’s an extremely tight race in the regional Tasmanian seat of Lyons.
Incumbent Eric Hutchinson has a slight lead on Labor candidate Brian Mitchell by a handful of votes.
There’s been a 2.8 per cent swing against the Liberals.
The seat takes up half of Tasmania, and until Mr Hutchinson took victory in 2013, it was held by Labor stalwart Dick Adams for 20 years.
It had the narrowest margin in Tasmania, sitting just over 1 per cent
Bass: Labor candidate Ross Hart is polling 59 per cent of the vote in Bass on a two-party preferred basis with 2 per cent of the votes returned.
The tally indicates an early 13 per cent swing against incumbent Liberal Andrew Nikolic.
In the first preference race, Mr Nikolic is narrowly leading Mr Hart by almost 300 votes, accruing 41 per cent of the vote.
In Bass, 20 of the 48 booths have been returned, mainly from small polling stations in the North East.
Votes from booths in South Launceston and Prospect Vale have also been returned.
Early results indicate a 10 per cent swing against Mr Nikolic.
UPDATE 6.30pm: The early numbers are in on the two party preferred figures.
Bass: Liberal incumbent Andrew Nikolic has a 7.42 per cent swing against him, with Labor candidate Ross Hart holding a 6.75 per cent swing.
Braddon: Labor candidate Justine Keay has a 8.55 swing against Liberal incumbent Brett Whiteley.
Lyons: Labor candidate Brian Mitchell holds a 8.59 per cent swing over Liberal incumbent Eric Hutchinson.
Denison: No results yet.
Franklin: No results yet.
UPDATE 6pm: Voting has officially closed and now it’s all eyes on the Australian Electoral Commission for the first round of polling results.
UPDATE 3pm:
Lyons candidates Brian Mitchell and incumbent Eric Hutchinson greeted Longford residents at the Memorial Hall polling station on Saturday afternoon.
With recent predictions indicating Mr Mitchell would likely win the electorate, both candidates braved a chilly wind for one last chance to chat with voters.
Mr Hutchinson said regardless of the poll's outcome, his term as Lyons MP had been "a privilege and an honour".
"I've worked hard for the last three years and we have a clear plan to grow the economy and that plan is working," he said.
UPDATE 1.50pm:
We have great mini updates from around the traps on our Snapchat account.
Our reporters have spoken with Bass candidates, Tasmanian Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson and Lyons candidates.
(There’s also a video of a sausage sizzle that’s sure to get your stomach rumbling. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.)
You can add us by using the Snapchat app to take a photo of our logo or by searching “examineronline”.
We also had a light-hearted chat with some party volunteers – there’s videos there for those who are sick of reading.
UPDATE 12.50pm:
Casting his vote on Saturday morning, Bass Liberal MHR Andrew Nikolic said his team were taking nothing for granted.
“We’ve got a great story to tell where unemployment has dropped from 8.1 per cent at the 2013 election to 6.5 per cent today, with $260 million of job-creating projects for Bass, my hope is that people will look at that and realise that we have delivered for Tasmania and I’ve love the opportunity to deliver in the future,” he said.
Tasmanian Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson is expecting an improved vote for the party in the senate.
He said he believed there was a chance for the party to gain a third senate seat with candidate Anna Reynolds.
“This is my fifth election campaign and I’m feeling that there’s definitely a mood in the electorate to hold the government to account, to hold the big parties to account,” Mr Whish-Wilson said.
UPDATE 11am:
Casting her vote in Launceston on Saturday, Greens Bass candidate Terrill Riley-Gibson thanked her team for their hard work during the eight-week campaign.
“We’ve had great preparation, we’ve got fantastic community support, we’ve had brilliant volunteer support and we’re feeling very positive about how the Greens are doing,” she said.
The Greens are unlikely to win Bass and have focused their resources on the senate, expecting to return Tasmanian Greens senators Peter Whish-Wilson and Nick McKim.
Labor Bass candidate Ross Hart cast his vote at Norwood Primary School.
He said he was feeling quietly confident.
“I think we’ve run a very credible campaign,” he said.
“There’s a mood for change in the electorate.”
Tasmanian Flux candidate Adam Poulton was handing out how-to-vote cards at Norwood Primary School.
He said party membership had been growing rapidly in the last few days of the campaign.
Another difficult decision for you on Saturday: short lines at Pilgrim Hall on Launceston’s Paterson Street but no sausages. Norwood Primary School has long lines but plenty of sausages. We’ll leave that with you.
You can also catch up with us on Snapchat - if that’s your thing, add ExaminerOnline.
UPDATE 10.50am:
Tasmanian candidates spent Saturday morning casting their votes in Bass, Lyons, Braddon, Franklin and Denison.
Bass has been a marginal to high risk electorate in the past six federal elections.
Campaigning from Labor’s Ross Hart and Liberal Andrew Nikolic has been strong since week one but it is predicted to be a nail biter.
Psephologist Kevin Bonham predicted Mr Nikolic will scrape over the line, and Mr Mitchell was likely to win Lyons.
Lyons is Tasmania’s largest and most marginal electorate.
Currently held by Eric Hutchinson but Labor’s Brian Mitchell has been a strong contender.
EARLIER 9.45am:
Happy election day, Tasmania.
A partly cloudy day is upon Launceston, the Bureau of Meteorology forecasted light northwesterly winds with a maximum of 15.
The Examiner will be hitting the streets to capture all the election shenanigans as they happen.
Fairfax photographers Andrew Meares and Alex Ellinghausen have been with Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten every one of the 54 days, take a look at the campaign summarised in photos.
EARLIER:
►Play along on social media, on Facebook or tell us your prediction with the #tasvotes16 hashtag on Twitter. Have you got us on Snapchat? Add us: ExaminerOnline
It seems like an age ago that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called the election on Sunday May 8.
July 2 has rolled around after an eight-week whirlwind of politician visits, pledges and promises.
Polling booths open at 8am, and shut up shop at at 6pm sharp. You can find a list of place to vote in Bass here – complete with sausage sizzle and cake stall info.
Numbers should start rolling in after 6pm, but pre-poll results should be available during the day, with more than 20 per cent of Tasmanians heading to the polls early.
If you’re twiddling your thumbs waiting for the results to start flowing, you can test your Bass knowledge with our quiz, or relive the election campaign.
THE CANDIDATES
House of Representatives
Bass
Liberal – Andrew Nikolic
Labor – Ross Hart
Greens – Terrill Riley-Gibson
Renewable Energy Party – Roy Ramage
Christian Democratic Party – Malcolm Beattie
Australian Recreational Fishers Party – Mark Tapsell
Lyons
Liberal – Eric Hutchinson
Labor – Brian Mitchell
Greens – Hannah Rubenach
Australian Recreational Fishers Party – Shelley Shay
Renewable Energy Party – Duncan Livingston
Christian Democratic Party – Gene Mawer
Braddon
Liberal – Brett Whiteley
Labor – Justine Keay
Greens – Scott Jordan
Australian Recreational Fishers Party – Glen Saltmarsh
Christian Democratic Party – Graham Hodge
Renewable Energy Party – Clinton Rice
Liberal Democrats – Joshua Boag
Franklin
Liberal – Amanda Sue-Markham
Labor – Julie Collins
Greens – Martine Delaney
The Arts Party – Tim Sanderson
Christian Democratic Party – George Muskett
Denison
Liberal – Marcus Allan
Labor – Jane Austin
Independent – Andrew Wilkie
Greens – Jen Brown
Democratic Labour Party – Wayne Williams
Christian Democratic Party – Amanda Excell
View the Senate candidates here