“The priorities of the Labor party aligned with the priorities of the electorate,” Ms Keay said on Sunday.

“Our face-to-face campaign demonstrated that.”

Ms Keay is the first woman to represent the electorate since its creation in 1955.

She said Labor’s focus on health, education and jobs resonated with constituents, while cuts to Medicare put voters off Liberal member Brett Whiteley.

Ms Keay polled strong from the beginning and by 8.30pm the result was all but decided – the Labor candidate swung 5.14 per cent in the two-party preferred vote to cement her position as the new member.

More than 100 supporters joined Ms Keay at the Burnie Harness Racing Club on Saturday night to watch the count.

Among them was Senator Anne Urqhart, who congratulated her new parliamentary colleague but admitted she was surprised by the “huge” swing.

“I think it’s fantastic but it’s thanks to the hard work of the campaign, the many many volunteers that we had and Justine as being a fantastic candidate,” she said.

“She’s a great representative for Braddon and she’s going to be fantastic representing the people in Braddon, so I think it’s a combination of a number of those things.”

Ms Keay, a former Devonport Alderman, thanked those who assisted with door knocking, calling and volunteering at polling booths.

“We ran a really strong grassroots campaign,” she said. 

“It’s about the volunteers who have it in their hearts to go out day after day and talk to people about Labor’s policies.”