Welcome to our rolling coverage of the 2016 federal election for the seat of Forrest.
We'll be bringing you all the latest news, photos and videos as we head towards the result.
Refresh the page to see all the latest updates and if you've got an update or photo to submit to the live coverage then you can do so by sending it to andrew.elstermann@fairfaxmedia.com.au.
10pm: Federal member for Forrest Nola Marino doesn’t want to jump the gun but it’s safe to say that she will again champion the South West in Canberra for the next three years.
Mrs Marino gathered key supporters close to her on Saturday night and cheered with them as the following message went across the TV screen – ‘Nola Marino chief government whip returned’.
She took the opportunity to personally thank each of her supporters in the room for their invaluable efforts.
“I really want to thank every person in Forrest who had the confidence to choose me as their continued representative in Canberra,” she said.
“I represent everyone in this electorate, irrespective of how they voted, and that’s something I do all the time.
“I’ve been so determined to give the people of Forrest the representation their families and businesses deserve.
Mrs Marino also made special mention of her husband Charlie Marino. The pair celebrated their wedding anniversary on Friday.
“To do this, you have to give 110 per cent and it means I’m not home a lot,” she said.
“Charlie has been behind me all the way and when I decided I was putting my hand up in 2007 he told me ‘you helped me live my dream all these years and now it’s my turn to help you live yours’.”
Check back in with the Mail soon for more.
8pm: Nationally, it seems more and more likely that we are looking at a hung parliament. Find out what that could mean here.
6pm: Time’s up ladies and gentlemen. Polling places are now closed and the voting is set to start any minute now. Will your preferred candidate claim the seat of Forrest? Stay tuned…
5pm: There is just one hour left to have your voice heard in the 2016 federal election.
If you haven't voted yet, you'd better hurry up!
4.15pm: We’ve had confirmation that the polling place in Northcliffe was slow to start this morning. A spokesperson for the Australian Electoral Commission said some staff at the polling place were late withdrawals and replacements had to be found at the last minute.
Despite earlier rumours, we have confirmation Nannup was not affected.
One Northcliffe local told us while the long queues were a bit of a nuisance, at least everyone got the chance to enjoy the showcase at the town hall and the primary school sold extra raffle tickets while people waited.
4pm: Polls have now closed in the Eastern states and there are just two hours left to get your votes down on paper in Western Australia.
3pm: Opposition leader Bill Shorten confused many voters today with his sausage sizzle-eating technique. How were the snags at your polling place?
Admittedly, we’ve never seen anyone attack the bun from the middle but hey, maybe it will catch on…
2.15pm: BREAKING: Fairfax Media have heard multiple reports that some of the South West polling places including Northcliffe and Nannup had not received ballot papers by 8am Saturday morning, forcing them to open later in the morning after a delivery was made.
Were you affected? Email andrew.elstermann@fairfaxmedia.com.au
1pm: The students at Bunbury Primary School are hard at work manning the car wash while parents and friends vote as a fundraising for the year six camp later in the year.
Watch the kids in action:
12pm: Crossing to the neighbouring electorate of O’Connor for a moment, is anyone rocking a better election day outfit than Bridgetown’s Phil Freeman?
10am: Plenty of people have braved the cool of early morning to have their vote heard. How are things looking where you are?
8am: The polls in Western Australia are now open. You have until 6pm to cast your vote in the federal election to decide who will represent Forrest in Canberra for the next three years.
2016 candidates in Forrest
There are eight candidates contesting the 2016 federal election in Forrest. They will appear on the ballot paper in this order;
How do I vote?
Before you head into the poling place on Saturday, it is important to understand how to make your vote count.
This one minute video explains how to successfully vote for your preferred candidates in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Where can I vote?
There are 50 polling places inside the electorate of Forrest. Click here for the full list.
2013 result in Forrest
Nine candidates contested the Federal seat of Forrest in 2013 with the Liberal Party holding a handy margin.
Nola Marino received 49.9 per cent of the vote before preferences while Labor candidate John Borlini claimed 25.3 per cent, Greens candidate Gordon Tayler claimed 9.5 per cent and Nationals candidate Michael Rose claimed 6.3 per cent. Five minor candidates claimed a combined nine per cent while six per cent of votes (5,095) were informal.
After preferences Liberal Nola Marino finished with 53,198 votes while Labor’s John Borlini received 32,225 votes – a swing of 3.5 per cent in favour of Mrs Marino from 2010.
For the 2016 election, the Collie council area has been redistributed into the seat of O’Connor, increasing Nola Marino’s margin from 12.8 per cent to 13.8 per cent.
Where is Forrest?
The Federal seat of Forrest is in the South West corner of Western Australia and covers the local government areas of Augusta-Margaret River, Bunbury, Busselton, Capel, Dardanup, Donnybrook-Bridgetown, Balingup, Harvey and Nannup.
The seat covers 11,072 square kilometres and is named after Sir John Forrest (1847-1918) who was the first Premier of Western Australia between 1890 and 1901.
History of the Forrest electorate
Forrest was created for the 1922 election and has predominately been held by conservative parties. The Australian Labor Party has only won Forrest at three elections.
John Prowse was the first candidate to win Forrest in 1922 for the Country Party and held the seat until 1943 when he was defeated by Labor’s Nelson Lemmon.
In 1949, Liberal Party member Gordon Freeth claimed Forrest back for his party and was appointed to the Menzies government’s ministry in 1958.
In 1969 Labor’s Frank Kirwan won Forrest for one term when he was defeated by Liberal candidate Peter Drummond. Drummond held the seat until his retirement in 1987.
Geoff Prosser won Forrest in 1987 and joined the Liberal frontbench in 1990. He became a minister in the Howard government after the 1996 election but was forced to resign that position in 1997 after he breached the code of conduct. He served on the backbench until his retirement in 2007.
Nola Marino has held the seat for the Liberal Party ever since, winning elections in 2007, 2010 and 2013.
For more about the history of the Forrest electorate visit tallyroom.com.au
The race to become Prime Minister
Fewer than one in five voters think Bill Shorten will win the election, yet around half intend to give his party either their first or second preference, according to the final Fairfax-Ipsos poll on the eve of the election.
The contradiction points to a looming dead heat that has lifted the potential for Saturday's election to deliver either a shock Labor win, a narrow Coalition victory, or a hung Parliament with no side commanding a majority in the House of Representatives.
A massive 27 per cent of voters remain intent on supporting Greens and other crossbench parties and independents, as support for the major parties threatens to erode further.
The final Fairfax-Ipsos poll of the 2016 election shows that with most Australians preparing to cast their votes Labor and the Coalition are locked in a 50-50 embrace based on second and subsequent preference flows recorded in the 2013 poll when Labor's electoral support had tumbled.
Read the full story here.
Key election day statistics
Voting arrangements
- About 7000 polling places will be operating from 8am to 6pm on election day, Saturday, July 2.
- More than 600 early voting centres operated in the weeks leading up to election day.
- Voting services will be available in 94 diplomatic missions around the world, enabling eligible Australians living, working or holidaying overseas to cast their vote.
- Australia House in London was the biggest polling place for the 2013 federal election, taking more than 15,000 votes.
- Forty-one mobile voting teams were to visit more than 400 remote locations across Australia by land, air and sea
- Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) mobile voting teams will cover about 3.4 million square kilometres by road, air and sea.
- ▪ Information in 27 languages explaining how to vote will be available at every polling place.
Enrolment
- 15,676,659 Australians are enrolled to vote for the 2016 federal election. This compares with 14,712,799 in 2013.
- An estimated 816,000 eligible Australians are not enrolled for the 2016 election. This compares with an estimated 1.22 million in 2013. This equates to a rise from 92 per cent to 95 per cent participation.
- An estimated 254,432 18- to 24-year-olds aren't enrolled to vote for the 2016 election – a participation rate of 86.7 per cent. This compares with an estimated 400,000 in 2013. Within this broader youth category, the participation of 18-year-olds has risen from about 50 per cent at the end of April to more than 70 per cent for the 2016 federal election.
Parties
- 57 parties are registered for the 2016 federal election. This compares with 54 in 2013.
- 33 parties registered a logo for the 2016 federal election.
Candidates
- 1625 candidates nominated for the 2016 federal election. This compares with 1717 in 2013.
- 994 candidates nominated for the House of Representatives for the 2016 election. This compares with 1188 in 2013.
- 631 candidates nominated for the Senate for the 2016 election. This compares with 529 in 2013.
- There are 1084 male candidates and 540 female candidates for the 2016 election. This compares with 1247 male and 470 female candidates in 2013.
Election resources
- More than 45 million ballot papers have been produced for the 2016 federal election.
- More than 60,000 ballot boxes have been produced.
- More than 120,000 voting screens have been produced.
- About 13,000 recycling bins have been produced.
- More than 100,000 pencils and about 140 kilometres of string are required.
- About 10 million households will have received the AEC's publication Your Official Guide to the 2016 Federal Election.
- More than 75,000 polling official positions exist to service early voting centres, polling places on election day and for counting votes after the election. These staff are recruited, trained and undergo police checks.
- About 500 election call centre operators were trained to answer inquiries during the election period.
- More than 310,000 calls had been received for the 2016 federal election by June 23. This compares with 550,000 calls received in 2013.
- The election funding rate for candidates, if they achieve at least 4 per cent of the formal first preference vote, is 262.784¢ per vote.
Penalties for not voting
- Failing to vote attracts a $20 penalty.
- Failure to pay may lead to the matter being referred to court, where a fine of up to $180 plus court costs may be levied and a criminal conviction may be recorded.
Read more here.
How did we get here?
Back on May 8, 2016, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull fired the starting gun on a 55-day election campaign, placing jobs, growth and economic management at the heart of his re-election pitch and warning a switch to Labor would "stop our nation's transition to the new economy dead in its tracks".
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has fired back by promising to protect schools, hospitals, workers' pay and conditions and to act on climate change - in pointed contrast to Mr Turnbull, who did not mention global warming in his election pitch - while stressing Labor's unity of purpose and commitment to fairness.
The Coalition currently holds 90 seats and Labor 55 seats in the lower house, but following the redrawing of electoral boundaries in NSW and Western Australia, the Coalition holds a notional 89 seats and Labor 57 seats - with 76 seats representing the minimum number required to win government.
Read more here.
Andrew Elstermann
Email: andrew.elstermann@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Email: andrew.elstermann@fairfaxmedia.com.au
