One of Australia's most divisive political figures, outspoken former federal Labor leader Mark Latham, looks set to re-enter public office after 14 years in the wilderness, winning a NSW Upper House seat for One Nation.

With about 50 per cent of the Legislative Council vote counted, One Nation had won at least one seat, which would go to Mr Latham.

"We only ran in 12 Lower House seats so I'm keen to see what happens in the Legislative Council," Mr Latham told Channel Seven.

"At the moment we are tracking towards two quotas [Upper House seats] and when the metropolitan numbers are counted in the Legislative Council they are pretty encouraging."

There are 21 seats at play this year in the NSW Legislative Council. This means candidates must only win 1/22 of the vote, or 4.55 per cent to gain a seat.

At midnight, the ABC's election computer showed the Coalition had won 7.5 quotas and Labor had just over six.

The Greens were sitting on just over two quotas, SFF just above one and One Nation on 1.34.

With just over 46.1 per cent of the votes for the Legislative Council counted, only four of 21 seats were left in doubt.

There were about 13 per cent of votes in the "others" category.

His supporter and One Nation donor, broadcaster Alan Jones, called the results an "extraordinary personal triumph" for Mr Latham.

In announcing his candidacy, Mr Latham identified immigration, congestion, overdevelopment and electricity prices as issues of focus.

He also hit out at "political correctness" and "divisive identity politics" during an interview with Alan Jones on 2GB last year, and has said he wants to end the "spiteful discrimination against men and boys now evident in Australian public life".

He has also proposed cutting Australia's immigration rate.

More recently, he suggested a DNA test to verify claims of Aboriginality, but experts have said such tests cannot be accurately performed.

'Quite difficult to negotiate with'

Mark Latham has maintained a media profile from outside parliament. ( AAP: Daniel Munoz )

University of Adelaide politics professor Carol Johnson said while Mr Latham's position on certain issues had not drastically altered since his time with Labor, he had become more conservative.

"Even when he was leader of the Labor Party … he actually was, even then, unsympathetic on many issues of gender, ethnicity and race," Professor Johnson said.

"He tended to see these as symbolic, elite, insider issues that he argued were alienating suburban Australians, the outsiders."

Professor Johnson said although the voting quota system was a legitimate way of having minority views represented in parliament, it could result in those voices having undue influence over legislative decision making.

"Of course I'd suggest that would be difficult for both Labor and Liberal if that becomes the situation and he [Mr Latham] does have that power," Professor Johnson said.

"Obviously it's particularly difficult for Labor in some ways because Latham is seen as being a bit of a rat in Labor ranks.

"But it will be also potentially be a problem for whoever holds government, because Mark Latham does not tend to be someone who is easily willing to make compromises.

"He tends to be a loner. He could be quite difficult to negotiate with."

Trump approach to winning votes

Mark Latham made headlines with his election-eve handshake with John Howard in 2004. ( Sydney Morning Herald: Penny Bradfield )

University of New England political scientist Tim Battin said populism was driving support for Mr Latham's campaign style, which he said had parallels with that of US President Donald Trump.

"I think populism takes hold when ideological stability starts to falter or fracture," Dr Battin said.

"You will have at the same time politicians who very cleverly recognise an opportunity for themselves to … adopt populist slogans as a strategy to transform populist tendencies into a top-down manipulation for their own benefit.

"You see this remarkable and audacious claim that they [Trump and Latham] are the outsiders.

"Trump was actually outside the formal political process, but Latham makes the same claim having been nothing but a political apparatchik from a very young age, and somehow characterises himself as an outsider."

From Labor leader to One Nation

Mark Latham hugs former prime minister Gough Whitlam at a Labor function in 2004. ( AAP: Mick Tsikas )

Mr Latham, now 58, entered politics in 1994, winning the NSW federal seat of Werriwa — the former electorate of his political mentor, Gough Whitlam.

He found himself at the centre of controversy in 2001, when it is alleged he broke the arm of Sydney cab driver Bachir Mustapha during a confrontation over his fare.

He insists he was just trying to recover his bag, and the broken arm was "bad luck for a thief".

After serving in the shadow ministry, Mr Latham rose to become leader of the opposition in 2003, narrowly defeating Kim Beazley for the position.

He went on to lead the party to defeat at the federal election the following year.

The day before the 2004 election, he famously shared an extended, very physical handshake with then-prime minister John Howard.

The handshake, which Mr Howard described as an attempt by Mr Latham to show dominance, led news bulletins and was splashed on front pages predicting a win for the incumbent Coalition.

Mr Latham left the party and politics in 2005, saying his health was poor.

Controversies mar career post politics

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Mr Latham was thrust into prominence again in 2010 when he took a job with Channel Nine.

It led to a series of confrontations with politicians including Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard, which were condemned in political and media circles.

He has also worked as a columnist for the Australian Financial Review, but resigned in 2015 after it emerged he had used a Twitter account to troll prominent women.

He joined the Liberal Democrats in 2017, which earned him a lifetime ban from Labor, but left a year later.

He became a commentator for Sky News but was sacked in 2017 after calling a group of high school students "dickheads" after they took part in a video about International Women's Day. He also said of the group, "I thought the first guy was gay".

He later commented via Twitter: "Why does bigoted Left assume use of word 'gay' automatically negative?"

"I love gays! Away from poisonous Left politics, they are great people."