Paul's Blog: 2010 Election Result

I am thrilled and humbled to have been re-elected in Bradfield.

It is very gratifying to have received a substantial favourable swing compared to the by-election in December 2009 at which I was elected to Parliament.  At the by-election, the first preference vote was 56.4%; this time, based on the most recent figures from the AEC, the vote will be over 64%.  On a two party preferred basis, the vote has increased from 64.3% to over 68%.

This result could not have been achieved without the hard work and support of so many dedicated volunteers who worked on my campaign and helped at polling booths on election day.

I want to thank everybody in Bradfield who turned out to vote.   To those who supported me, I hope to demonstrate that you have made a good choice.  To those who did not support me, it makes no difference in my determination to work for you – and I hope that at a subsequent election I may be able to win your support.

Of course, the big difference between the by-election in December 2009 and the general election in August 2010 is that in the general election we are deciding upon the future of Australia.

As I write, the Liberal National Coalition looks likely to secure 73 seats to Labor’s 72, with 5 independents.  This is an exceptional result. To put it in context, not since 1931 has a government lost after only one term.  The result is a huge credit to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who led a disciplined and effective campaign and articulated a clear alternative direction for Australia. 

The election result is also a powerful demonstration that Australians are dismayed by the inept, wasteful, big spending Rudd-Gillard Government – and profoundly disturbed by the decision of Labor’s faceless men to remove an elected Prime Minister.

It will be some days before we know the outcome, and which party will be called upon to form a minority government.  Let us hope that it will be the Liberal National Coalition. 

In the meantime, thank you to all who have supported our party nationally and me in Bradfield.  My parliamentary colleagues and I will work with energy and focus to deliver results which justify your decision to support us.