The closely fought seat has been keenly watched in the past week and a half. Sophie Mirabella, pictured with her supporters in Wangaratta on election night, has conceded in the battle for Indi. Credit:The Border Mail Ms McGowan, who pulled off the unusual outcome of defeating a major party member as an independent, had a lead of 389 votes over Mrs Mirabella following the distribution of preferences on Wednesday morning. Mrs Mirabella said representing the people of Indi in the Federal Parliament since 2001 had been ‘‘a high honour and a very special privilege’’. ‘‘I want to thank the electors of Indi for their support over the last decade. They have enriched my life and that of my family and, together, we have achieved so much for our community,’’ she said.

‘‘I also thank those who voted for the Liberal Party in this election and in the previous four elections in Indi. ‘‘This election is over and the responsibility for the outcome is mine.’’ Mrs Mirabella said the count was close but she was not seeking a recount because she accepted ‘‘the decision of the democratic process’’. ‘‘I will work with every ounce of my being to see this seat return to the Coalition but that is for another day,’’ she said. ‘‘I am just so grateful to everyone in the Liberal and National Parties who have supported my campaign and, to Tony Abbott, I repeat my overwhelming thanks for his selfless generosity and mentorship.

‘‘Today is for Cathy McGowan. I wish her success in the service of the people of Indi.’’ 'Amazing' victory Ms McGowan said she was overwhelmed by the news and thanked the Indi community. "What an amazing thing. It's community." Speaking from the Chiltern bakery, she also thanked those from Sydney and Melbourne who had contributed funds to her grassroots campaign.

"I always hoped for this but I am so pleased." She said Mrs Mirabella phoned her at about 10.30am and conceded defeat. "It was charming, professional is probably the word. She wished me well, congratulated me, and I said thank you. I wished her well and hope things go well for her- I really do," Ms McGowan said. She said celebrating would be the first thing she would do as the new MP for Indi. "The first thing we will seriously do is have a party. We have booked out the Oxley Hall for a party. There will be a traditional country dance and we will come together as a community."

Ms McGowan said she could not have achieved the result without more than 600 active volunteers working tirelessly behind the scenes. Ms McGowan received a rockstar welcome outside her Wangaratta office. Volunteers shouted with joy, clapped, cried and hugged the MP. "She's off to Canberra," one woman said. Shopowners opened their doors and yelled "congratulations Cathy". She said the last week-and-a-half of uncertainty in the seat had been a rollercoaster of emotions.

"The primary emotion has been pride. As we have been waiting for the result to come out, we have felt great pride in what we have done." Credit to Mirabella Ms McGowan acknowledged Mrs Mirabella's contribution to public service and the 12 years of work she had done for the electorate. Employers' organisation the Australian Industry Group paid tribute to Mrs Mirabella, saying that in her role as shadow minister for innovation, industry, science and research she had showed ‘‘consistent and strong engagement with industry’’. ‘‘She demonstrated a special interest in the development of policy particularly for the manufacturing sector, as well as policy development around anti-dumping," Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox said.

"We thank her for her collaboration and engagement and wish her well for the future." Last week Mrs Mirabella asked Mr Abbott to finalise his front bench without her in the line-up because her own future in Parliament was not assured. Latest figures show Ms McGowan holding 50.22 per cent of the vote after preferences, compared with 49.78 per cent for Mrs Mirabella, after nearly 95 per cent of the electoral roll has been counted. Mrs Mirabella clinched 44.72 per cent of the primary vote, ahead of Ms McGowan on 31.22 per cent. But preference flows pushed Ms McGowan ahead of the Liberal incumbent. The swing away from the Liberals in Indi bucked the national trend that propelled Mr Abbott's Liberal-National Coalition into government, ending Labor's six-year stint in office.

Loading Absentee votes in Indi favoured Ms McGowan while the majority of pre-poll and postal votes went Mrs Mirabella's way.