Bass Liberal MHR Bridget Archer has once again won one of the most marginal seats in the country, ending the electorate's two-decade trend of one-term members.
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With a severely diminished Liberal party now in opposition, Ms Archer returns to a very different political landscape than the one she entered in 2019 but appears eager to carve out her own political identity.
"I think that our politics over recent years, both in Australia and overseas, have become increasingly ideological and tribal. That is not a position that I support," Ms Archer said.
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"You have to act in the best interests of the community and the best interests of the country, not in the best interests of partisan politics".
The Coalition entered the election with 76 seats across the country but now only holds just 50.
With several senior Liberal MPs losing key seats across the country to moderate independents campaigning on integrity and climate, the returning member for Bass conceded that the party needed to hear the message sent by voters across Australia.
"I think there'll be some important lessons to come out of this election. The rise of the independents that we're seeing across the country brings some strong messages for the Liberal party about our future. I look forward to having those discussions after the election [is finalised]," she said.
With counts still coming in for Bass, Ms Archer holds a razor-thin edge in the two-candidate preferred count at 50.95 per cent - marking a 0.5 percent swing to the Liberals and a slight improvement on her 2019 result.
Ms Archer said that Bass Labor candidate Ross Hart had not yet contacted her to concede. Mr Hart has yet to publicly address the loss.
By returning Ms Archer and Braddon Liberal MHR Gavin Pearce to their seats, Northern Tasmania has bucked the national trend away from the Liberal party.
Ms Archer drew criticism in the final week of the campaign for appearing to distance herself from the Liberal party by changing some of her political branding from blue to purple. During the election, Labor targeted Scott Morrison's personality as a key issue and Ms Archer said this had resonated strongly with voters.
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"I think it has been a very challenging couple of years and the people of Australia are feeling challenged. We've been met with fires and floods and pandemics. And I'm sure that the way that Mr. Morrison responded to some of those issues obviously did not endear him to the community," she said.
Asked if this had played a part in her re-election, she said what had resonated with voters throughout the campaign was her message to represent local issues at a federal level.
Ms Archer also said that pushing for a federal integrity commission and setting a stronger 2030 climate target were two issues she would continue to advocate strongly for within Bass.
"What happens nationally is of course important, but the reason that we elect individual members is because we want them to stand up for us, we want them to represent us and recognize the local issues that matter to us when they go to Canberra."
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