A hush fell over the room at the Liberal election night event in Lindsay as seats that were thought to be blue strongholds began to turn red, including that of Coalition Leader Peter Dutton.
At 6pm on Saturday evening there was nothing more politicians across the country could do but wait to see how the Australian people had voted.
There was a resounding response from across the country: Labor was the way go to go for another three years.
It wasn’t all bad news for the Liberals, with Lindsay MP Melissa McIntosh locked in to secure a third straight term.
“I’m very grateful the people of Lindsay voted me in as their local Federal MP for a third term,” McIntosh said.
“Over the last six years, I have fought hard every day for our community and that will be my 100 per cent focus over the next three years.”
First elected in 2019, McIntosh came into the election with a margin in her favour of 6.1 per cent.
With 84.1 per cent of the votes counted, that margin has come back with a 2.6 per cent swing to Labor after preferences.
But McIntosh suffered a 5.5 per cent swing against her primary vote, which will be a major concern for the Liberals when the seat is contested again in 2028.
She holds a lead of around 6,446 votes heading into the final ballots being counted.
McIntosh said there’s plenty to take from the numbers.
“I take very seriously the message from the people that changed their vote this election, and I’m very much listening to the issues that matter most to them,” McIntosh said.
Despite the swing away from the Liberal Party, McIntosh thanked her staff, campaign volunteers and voters for all the work they put in, saying she is ready to get back to advocating for the community.
“I want to thank everyone who supported me during the campaign, it was wonderful to receive such positive and strong encouragement from people. I also want to thank all the local community volunteers who worked so hard to ensure we held the seat,” she said.
“I look forward to continuing to be a strong voice in the Australian Parliament for our community – the best community in the country.”
On the night of the election McIntosh addressed the Liberal faithful at her event saying she would continue to fight for Lindsay, now a tougher task given Labor’s dominance nationally.
“The Albanese Labor Government rips so much funding out of western Sydney and it has hurt people here. It’s hurt people so much and I’ll continue to fight for the best for our community,” she said.
“I’m just hearing from people about what matters most to them and right now, people are suffering like they’ve never suffered before.
“I’ve stood for two weeks on the Penrith High Street, and it really upsets me that so many people are experiencing homelessness. People on double incomes are lining up at food banks because they can’t afford to feed their families. This is a failure of the Albanese Labor Government to look after everyday Australians.
“These are not Australians who have been suffering before. These are Australians who are working so hard for their families, and this is exactly the type of people that we are fighting for here in western Sydney and we’re going to continue to fight for them.”
Of all the minor parties who ran candidates in Lindsay Aaron McAllister from The Greens received the highest votes with 8,463 or 9.22 per cent of votes.
Independent Jim Saleam received the least number of votes with 1,020 just beating HEART Party candidate Michelle Palmer who received 1,027 votes.
At the time of publication there has been 10,274 informal votes counted, accounting for 10.1 per cent of all votes in the Lindsay electorate.
McIntosh and her Liberal colleagues will vote for a new leader in the coming weeks as the party tries to regroup.
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.