Labor has retained the seat of Northcote in Melbourne’s inner-north by less than 200 votes after the distribution of preferences, in a hard fought campaign against the Greens that takes the Andrews government closer to the high watermark of 55 seats won in the 2018 “Danslide”.
Kat Theophanous held the seat with a 0.22 per cent margin, 184 votes more than Greens candidate Campbell Gome on a two-party preferred basis, following a calculation by the Victorian Electoral Commission on Tuesday afternoon.
Greens candidate for Northcote Campbell Gome still trails ALP incumbent Kat Theophanous, but the gap is narrowing.Credit:Jason South; Luis Enrique Ascui
The results tightened dramatically after absentee votes were added to the tally in the days after Gome conceded last Thursday.
The Greens on Monday did not rule out seeking a recount, depending on the final margin, but Gome said his concession stood.
“My concession still stands,” he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday, prior to the final calculation.
“All the Greens said is that we’d look at the final data. Of course we’ll look at the data.”
Theophanous, who survived a 1.5 per cent swing against her on a two-party preferred basis, was appointed parliamentary secretary for women’s health on Monday in a modest cabinet reshuffle.
She flipped the seat for Labor in 2018 just a year after now-Senator Lidia Thorpe picked up Northcote for the Greens in a byelection.
A result for Preston was also expected to be finalised on Tuesday, but the VEC will now distribute preferences on Wednesday.
Nathan Lambert is expected to retain the northern suburbs seat for Labor, which would take the Andrews government to 54 out of 88 lower house seats, despite a 19 per cent swing towards independent Gaetano Greco who campaigned on the future of the Preston Market.
Counting is also continuing in Bass and Pakenham.
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