No one saw it coming - except perhaps Scott Morrison, who emerged close to the dot of midnight to declare: “I have always believed in miracles.”

The vanquished, Bill Shorten, had hung off conceding but eventually did, and delivered a graceful, honourable concession that included his resignation as leader. He called for national unity.

“I know that you're all hurting, and I am too.”

The speeches - the belting emotional weight that every election night carries with it - came at the end of an evening that began with a Nine exit poll predicting an even bigger Labor win than recent polls had predicted. It staggered to a close with Labor figures - Penny Wong on the ABC, Anthony Albanese on Nine - hanging their increasingly forlorn hopes on the vast number of pre-poll votes.

As Labor pondered its fate, there was the bizarre disconnect from Warringah. Here was Tony Abbott: going, going, gone, via a literal kick in the bum from Julie Bishop on Nine. On Sky, Alan Jones, resplendent in a suit crossed between off-lime and acid-trip peppermint, was ropable about Abbott and much else - even if eventually the bigger result swung his way.