By JESSE GRAHAM
TONY Smith looks set to be re-elected to the seat of Casey, with the national result of the federal election still too close to call.
As of 9am on Monday, 4 July, Mr Smith had 55.27 per cent of the vote after preferences, with Labor’s candidate Hovig Melkonian receiving 44.73 per cent, with 77.7 per cent of votes counted. Fewer than 8000 votes separated the two candidates.
Federally, the election result is still too close to call, with uncertainty about which party will come out on top – the Australian Electoral Commission reports the ALP as ahead with 69 seats, while the LNP trails with 64. Six seats have been won by the Greens, independents or minor parties, with 11 seats undecided or too close to call.
Mr Smith told the Mail on Sunday morning that he was “humbled” by the result from the campaign, and expected his numbers to be strengthened by postal votes during the week.
“I’d like to thank the local community for their continuing support and faith in me,” he said.
“It’s hard to speculate when you’re the candidate, but what I would say is that I worked very hard to articulate the national plan, as well as a very considered and fully-funded local plan, and that will deliver benefits directly to our local community.”
“And I think that, now we’ve got to the end of the campaign, when you look at the policy pledges I made, they were certainly more comprehensive than any of the other candidates, in terms of putting forward a local plan.”
The AEC announced over the weekend it would be spending Sunday sorting absent, interstate, postal and other votes to be packaged and sent to their home division, with counting to resume on Tuesday.
If the Coalition wins nationally, Liberal-pledged CCTV cameras will be funded for Yarra Glen, Woori Yallock, Mount Evelyn and Monbulk.
Sporting clubs could also benefit, with hundreds of thousands in funding pledged by Mr Smith for netball lighting and courts in Montrose, Healesville and Coldstream.
Regardless of the winner, new phone towers will be built in Chum Creek, Reefton, Kalorama and Mount Evelyn, with both parties pledging support for addressing mobile phone black spots.
Monbulk Recreation Reserve would receive $600,000 from the Coalition or $750,000 from Labor, adding funding towards a $2.5 million upgrade for the area to build upgraded changerooms, a gym and canteen, among other improvements.
If Labor wins, the Eastern Legal Community Centre will receive $450,000 in funding over three years, as part of a $43 million initiative for legal services working with family violence survivors.
Mr Smith said the national result was “very close”, but that he concurred with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who said in a late-night speech on Saturday that he believed the Coalition would win enough seats to form government.
On election day, Mr Melkonian said that he felt the seat had been forgotten, as it was a safely-held Liberal seat.
However, he said the Yarra Valley would benefit from the seat being more marginal.
In first-preference votes, Mr Smith received 49 per cent of the vote outright, while Mr Melkonian received 29.27 per cent; The Greens’ Dr Elissa Sutherland received 11.65 per cent, while Animal Justice Party candidate Kristin Bacon received 4.3 per cent.
Independent Peter Charleton received three per cent of the vote, while Rise Up Australia Party candidate Angela Dorian received 2.65 per cent.
Almost four per cent of the vote so far – some 2952 ballot papers – was recorded as informal.
Mr Melkonian was contacted for comment, but did not respond by deadline.
