Andrew Leigh has won a third term representing Canberra's north after a comfortable victory in Fenner.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Dr Leigh had won 46.64 per cent of first preferences votes with 35 of 41 polling places returned, a swing of 0.4 per cent in his favour. On two-party preferred Labor had a positive bump of 1 per cent, up to 63.5 per cent.
"It looks like there is a small swing towards Labor, that obviously reflects the decimation of the public service – 10 per cent of jobs have been cut since the government was elected," he said.
Dr Leigh said the Liberals' attempt to draw in ACT political issues had not helped them.
"Many Liberals at the poll booths said a vote for Labor was a vote for light rail, so the Liberals should acknowledge tomorrow Canberrans have voted for it."
The former professor of economics said a national victory for Labor – which would require throwing out a first-time government for the first time in 85 years – looked like a "tough mountain to climb", and it was not clear on Saturday night whether it could reach the summit.
Check the graphic above for the latest figures.
Dr Leigh said he was immensely proud of the ideas the ALP had taken to the election, including "better schools, saving Medicare, a national broadband that works and a public service that's strong here in Canberra".
He won the then seat of Fraser with 62.6 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote in 2013, making it the 11th safest seat for Labor nationally.
He had a swing of 1.6 percentage points against him, two-party-preferred, in 2013.
Liberal candidate Robert Gunning was upbeat shortly before 11pm, saying the Canberra Liberals had bucked the national trend.
"There's been a substantial swing against a first-time government and it has been an awful lot less in Fenner and in Canberra," he said.
The national swing against the Coalition was 2.9 per cent. Gai Brodtmann had a favourable swing of 1.4 per cent in Canberra.
Mr Gunning rejected the claim the results showed support for light rail.
"The direct election on the light rail will take place at the next ACT election, and I've doorknocked a lot of Canberrans and there's the occasional people in favour, but their voice is completely drowned out by the numbers of people against it and the intensity against it," he said.
A redistribution this year renamed the seat after scientist Professor Frank Fenner and transferred almost 10,200 voters from Canberra's inner north into the traditional southside electorate of Canberra.
