Federal election 2022: Senate shakeup sees Liberals, UAP, and One Nation on the losing side

Voters have turned their backs on One Nation’s Pauline Hanson, who is at risk of losing her Senate spot to Queensland Greens candidate Penny Allman-Payne. On Sunday, she was already clearly outmatched by Ms Allman-Payne at 14.1 per cent. The race to the Senate was over before it even started for billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer, who received only 4.7 per cent of the Senate vote for the United Australia Party. This was despite him spending more than $100 million on advertising during the election campaign. In WA, Labor is on track to win three senator positions — making it easy for Anthony Albanese to claim victory in the Upper House. The shock loss of the third WA Liberal spot — held by Ben Small — came as a “surprise” for the small-business owner. “I was really surprised when the booth numbers started coming in because it just didn’t feel that bad (on election day),” Senator Small told The West Australian. “People didn’t seem to have their baseball bats out for us, but they clearly did. “I guess what we need to do now is understand how we’ve drifted so far from the needs and wants and aspirations of West Australians.” Outgoing attorney-general Michaelia Cash, the Liberal Party’s most senior politician in WA, and Dean Smith have retained their Senate spots for the Liberals. Also returned were Sue Lines — who is Deputy President of the Senate and would be the natural choice as President — and Glenn Sterle for the ALP, and the Greens’ Dorinda Cox. The sixth seat — and third for Labor in the State — is expected to go to Fatima Payman. “There will be a radical shift to the Left in the Federal Government, a massive expansion in the public service, more intervention in people’s lives and more taxes,” Senator Small said. “I’ll be back to the private sector, which is as much as I’ve narrowed it down and am not ruling out returning to politics.” Former rugby union star David Pocock is on the verge of an historic ACT Senate victory — set to become the first Territory senator from a minor party. Debates on legislation are about to become more heated with the Greens and Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie to have the final say on passing Bills if Labor does not have the support of the Coalition. The Greens are heading for their largest-ever presence in the Upper House with 12 senators. It is projected Labor will win 25 seats, which is short of the 39 needed for a majority in the Senate — however, a government has not held this number since John Howard was in power. The Coalition will hold the most seats, which is expected to be 30. The Senate is expected to have a female majority, with 57 per cent of senators women based on projections.

Federal election 2022: Senate shakeup sees Liberals, UAP, and One Nation on the losing side

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