Incumbent Labor MPs appear to have held onto the safe western suburbs seats of Maribyrnong, Gellibrand and Lalor in the 2016 federal election.
Labor leader Bill Shorten has held Maribyrnong, Tim Watts will return in Gellibrand and Joanne Ryan has fended off a field of challengers in Lalor.
Liberal and Greens candidates had aimed to shake the ALP’s firm grip on the federal seats – among the safest in Australia.
But Opposition leader Bill Shorten, who has held the seat of Maribyrnong since 2007, has been returned and must now wait to see if his party has picked up enough seats for him to become the nation’s Prime Minister.
Mr Shorten enjoyed a comfortable margin over his Liberal rival Ted Hatzakortzian, who was returning for another tilt after challenging for the seat in 2013.
Big cheers were reported at Moonee Valley Racing Club when Bill Shorten and his supporters heard the seat had been safely returned.
Gellibrand incumbent Tim Watts took the baton from Nicola Roxon in 2013 and was widely expected to be returned.
Mr Watts and Mr Shorten both recorded a swing in their favour in early counting.
Mr Watts posted on Facebook that his supporters believe in the same thing as he does – expanding equality of opportunity social and economic.
“We campaign for the Labor Party because we aren’t satisfied to just ‘stand up for’ this goal – we want to win government to deliver it.
“It’s always a great privilege to be a Labor candidate and before the results are known, I want to publicly thank everyone who’s given their time, energy and passion for the Labor cause in this election.”
Labor’s Joanne Ryan is comfortably ahead in Lalor which she has held since taking over the seat from former prime minister Julia Gillard in the 2013 election.
Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek said Labor is in with a real chance of taking out the election.
“I think its been an absolutely terrific campaign… we have certainly not given up on Bill Shorten being the Prime Minister,” she told the ABC.
