GREENS deputy leader Adam Bandt has won the seat of Melbourne.

Just before 9pm Mr Bandt made a victory speech.



"It looks like we have won the seat of Melbourne," he said.



"This is a win for people power, but more than that it’s a win for refugees."



"This is a vote that says we are sick of the race to the bottom."

Scroll down for news on other Victorian seats

Mr Bandt thanked hundreds of supporters in the electorate of Melbourne promising he would not let them down.

He said the Greens had defeated the combined forces of the old parties: Labor and the Liberals.

"You have shown that the Greens will be this country's next big political party," he said.

media_camera Tony Abbott at Michael Sukkar (Federal Lib Candidate, Deakin).office. Michael Sukkar with nephew Jack greets Abbott. Picture: Sarah Matray

He warned that there were some grim times ahead for Australaans with Tony Abbott wanting to take money from the world's poorest people to "drive a tollway through the middle of our State".

He said Labor had tried to out tough Mr Abbott, which was a mistake because there was nothing that Mr Abbott would not do.

But he said the Greens would be a real alternative to the Liberals.

"The Greens will keep alight the light on the hill, but this time it will be solar power."



Mr Bandt said he wanted to recognise those living in public housing, migrants and in particular those from the African Australian community.

"Many countries, many religions, many groups have come together and said we want a voice in Parliament and I can tell you this: I will keep working for you every day for the next three years and we will make sure everyone across this country understands just how fantastic it is that you are here with us in Melbourne."

Mr Bandt won the seat from Labor in 2010.

He said it was clear that people in Melbourne were sick of the race to the bottom and "beating up on refugees".

media_camera Greens MP Adam Bandt talking with voters at Mt Alexander College in Flemington.

Mr Bandt said in contrast the Greens had a clear vision for the future and had run a positive campaign.

"The real opposition in the House of Representatives for Tony Abbott's brutal agenda will be led by the people of Melbourne," he said.

He said people in Melbourne clearly wanted action on climate change and did not want university funding slashed.

Mr Bandt had relied on Liberal preferences to get elected in 2010.

Labor had held the seat continuously for a century.

Mr Bandt said the Greens would be judged on their track record in Parliament, which included delivering on dental and clean energy reform.

- by Lucie Van den Berg



Lalor

Julia Gillard has tweeted for the first time in 58 days congratulating Joanne Ryan on her win in Ms Gillard former seat of Lalor.

She said Ms Ryan would be "a strong and articulate voice for a proud community we both love".

CORANGAMITE

GEELONG hosted two great battles in one day but picking a winner was never going to be easy.

Long before the city's beloved AFL squad ran out against Freo at Kardinia Park, the fiercest political contest in the nation was underway just across the Barwon River.

The fight for Corangamite, Australia's most marginal Labor-held seat, would be as toughly contested as Geelong's first home final.

And just as scrutineers would cast their assessment over the hugely anticipated match, so too would critics point to the outcome of this political tussle and what it could mean for the rest of the nation.

A swing of just 0.3 percent was all Liberal candidate Sarah Henderson needed to steam roll serving Labor MP Darren Cheeseman.

It was a post he clinched by just 771 votes at the last election and only after a three-week deliberation.

Mr Cheeseman admitted there was every chance history could repeat itself.

"It's hard to tell how this will ultimately play out," he said. "I am confident but it's a marginal seat and we just may not know the result as fast as we'd hope."

Both parties have promised millions in infrastructure investment and the creation of more jobs to offset the downturn of the local manufacturing industry.

Unlike their footy allegience, local voters yesterday remained deeply divided.

"From day one we took the approach that every single vote would count," Ms Henderson said.

media_camera Liberal candidate Sarah Henderson casts her vote. Picture: Hamish Blair

"My feeling is that it will be very close. People do want change. This was the last seat to fall in 2010 and we are working hard to get it across the line."

The footy clash was credited for significant boosts to pre-polling numbers. It's estimated more than a quarter of votes for Corangamite and Corio had been cast before the match.

- by Aaron Langmaid

DEAKIN

THE Coalition is set to take eastern suburbs seat of Deakin, with senior party source saying ''the swing is definitely on''.

The seat is held by Labor MP Mike Symon, who was first elected in 2007.

A senior Victorian Liberal told the Herald Sun that exit polling and feedback from booths suggested the seat, which covers suburbs including Blackburn, Ringwood, Croydon South and Nunawading, would soon be in the hands of Liberal candidate Michael Sukkar.

''The swing is definitely on,'' the source said.

A Labor source conceded to the Herald Sun that a loss appeared likely, with the seat looking gone for “months”.

Deakin is held on a margin of just 0.6 per cent and was on both parties’ lists of Victorian seats most likely to fall, along with La Trobe in Melbourne’s south-east and Corangamite in provincial south-west Victoria.

For Deakin incumbent Mr Symon, if the sun is shining on election day, it's a good day.

It was bright and sunny in 2010, and the Labor MP has fond memories of the day.

This year, redrawn boundaries have left him with a razor-thin margin of 0.6 per cent.

He's tired, but undeterred, as he hands out flyers in Mitcham this afternoon.

"With a margin like this you just think, everyone who shakes my hand and smiles - hopefully that's one more for me and one less for the other guy," he said.

media_camera Mike Symon, Labor candidate for Deakin at Mullauna College, Mitcham. Picture Kylie Else

He said he was most proud of helping deliver the grade separation of the Nunawading level crossing.

"Everything just flows so much better through there now," Mr Symon said.

If re-elected, he said he wanted to deliver funding for a $3m library and learning facility in Ringwood.

Needing only a 0.6 per cent swing to win the seat of Deakin, Liberal candidate Michael Sukkar says it will come down to the wire.

"I'm optimistic bit not overconfident," Mr Sukkar told the Herald Sun while handing out how to vote cards today.

Out in Heathmont this morning, Mr Sukkar said voters had told him they wanted a stable government and to reduce the cost of living.

Among his goals, if elected, were to fix traffic black spot areas in Ringwood and Blackburn North.

"There's been huge community outcry to get something done in these areas."



- by Matt Johnston and Rebecca David

LAVERS HILL

THE voters of Lavers Hill, are the most important in Victoria. The tiny dairy farming town represents a bellwether seat as The most marginal polling booth in the most marginal electorate in Victoria, Corangamite.

A Herald Sun straw exit poll put the LNP's Sarah Henderson in front by the slimmest of margins, the ALP's sitting member Darren Cheeseman won in similar fashion at the 2010 ballot.

At the last federal election the Otways town was split right down the middle. Of the 133 votes cast at the Lavers Hill Town Hall, 66 went to Labor's Cheeseman and 67 to Liberal candidate Henderson in the two-party count

With a diverse population of small business owners, farmers and artists, the area represents a strong cross section of the broader Victorian community, and most are expressing dissatisfaction with the current state of politics.

media_camera Darren Cheeseman casting his vote Mandama Primary School, Grovedale.

A strong trend in the seat for protest voting has meant many swinging from their 2010 choices between the two majors.

The Greens performed strongly in the seat early on but it was Ms Henderson eking a slim majority from Mr Cheeseman, in what was still a tight run race.

There was plenty of swing away from the ALP for voters in the seat that chose the Gillard government in 2010, many Lavers Hill voters said they were choosing the Coalition or the Greens out of protest against dysfunction within the Government.

The ALP failed to send a how-to-vote card volunteer to the seat, leaving voters to make up their own preferences. Voters said they have rarely seen either of the two major party candidates in the seat and would vote on issues important to the area including, dairy farming, the condition of the Great Ocean Road, bushfire safety measures, the future of the local school, environmental concerns and support for tourism and small business.

- by Andy Burns

BENDIGO

JOBS could prove the deciding issue for voters in regional Bendigo as a 12-month battle for power comes to a head.

The Liberal Party has committed millions of dollars to the central Victorian seat, hoping the retirement of long serving Labor MP Steve Gibbons will prove a catalyst for change.

But Labor's candidate, Lisa Chesters, hitting the five biggest polling booths today, remains adamant the party's history will hold her in good stead.

"Labor has a proud tradition here in Bendigo at a state level as well as a federal level,'' Ms Chesters said.

"We have that proud Labor agenda and people respect and they get that.''

The union organiser said concern about loss of penalty rates if Tony Abbott won office was a key issue, with almost a third of the electorate already living on the minimum wage or less.

Labor's federal TAFE plan and mandated job quotas for apprentices on government-controlled construction projects was proving a vote winner, she said.

But Liberal candidate Greg Bickley, a businessman, said Bendigo's job woes had been ignored for too long.

"We have seen unemployment on the way up in Bendigo,'' he said. "We have a history in manufacturing here - in Central Victoria and the Macedon Ranges - and it is under pressure.

"The cost of doing business keeps on going up and up and up.''

The Liberals' list of promises includes $86 million to fix the notorious Ravenswood interchange, a measure to which Labor has also committed.

It would also spend $500,000 on a community park in Kyneton and $300,000 for a respite facility in Castlemaine.

"We won't take this seat for granted as Labor has done,'' Mr Bickley said. "I think it was unexpected that we would look to invest in this electorate if we were successful.''

But Ms Chesters said voters wouldn't be hoodwinked.

"Bendigo is not the kind of town that can be bought,'' she said. "Bendigo is a town that wants to know you are going to listen to them, stand up for them and be a strong voice for their family on the issues that matter.''

Voting booths were busy across the electorate, with the queue at Woodend stretching 50m before voting even began.

- by Wes Hosking

McEWEN

INCUMBENT Rob Mitchell says he is not confident of retaining the seat of McEwen.

He will be watching from a Wallan pizza shop as the results unfold having spent the day popping in to various polling booths and talking to people across the electorate.

Mr Mitchell said, if re-elected, his goals were to make sure everything was spoken about.

"Get everything done that’s on the table and make sure we get that done,” he said.

"Make sure people have job security, health, and education.”

And he’s making sure his AFL priorities are still in sight, hoping that "Carlton get a win” in tomorrow’s elimination final.

First preference counts so far show Mr Mitchell has a swing of 19.4 per cent against him with about 28 per cent of the votes, while Donna Petrovich is leading the votes with a 10.2 per cent swing and over 46 per cent of the votes for the Liberal Party.

Under 2 per cent of the votes have been counted so far.

media_camera Labor candidate for McEwen Rob Mitchell at Sunbury College. Picture Kylie Else

Earlier both main parties were predicting a tight contest in marginal McEwen as voting lines build across the outer Melbourne electorate.

Labor MP Mr Mitchell and Liberal candidate Donna Petrovich both hit polling booths in a fight for last-minute votes.

At Sunbury West Primary School Ms Petrovich, who is hoping for a career in federal politics having served as a State Upper House MP, said winning was a tough ask but she remained positive.

The seat, which covers the outer northern suburbs and stretches into central Victoria, is held by a margin of 9.3 per cent.

"The feeling I have is that it will be very close,'' she said. ``People are angry and they are disenfranchised.

"There is a mood for change.''

The newcomer had knocked on a whopping 8500 doors during the campaign and has plastered the electorate with countless billboards and posters.

"I think people who meet me know that I am hardworking and genuine and that I really do want to make a change for this seat,'' she said.

Mr Mitchell, speaking at Sunbury College, said he believed no single issue would decide the contest.

"Some are thinking about a whole range of national and global issues,'' he said.

"And others are just looking at local things.

"You are always anxious, you are always nervous - you just hope the hard work has paid off.

"Every promise I have made I have delivered - we have got the biggest investment in this electorate ever.''

His opponent's spending on advertising had been impossible to match however. "Clearly we have been outspent by a huge amount of money,'' Mr Mitchell said. ``But I think people will see past that.''

Self-funded retiree Dorothy Holbrook was among those seeking change, saying Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had let down voters.

media_camera Donna Petrovich, Liberal candidate for McEwan at Sunbury West Primary School. Picture: Kylie Else

"You do not get a second chance when you do things wrong,'' she said. ``I just feel that he has not done a good job and he is very manic and self-opinionated.

"He really doesn't care about what we think, as long as he gets in and does the job he wants to do his way.''

But Sunbury Labor voter Robert Hill feared the Coalition would provide a less sympathetic and tolerant government.

"I think the Liberal Party and the conservatives represent everything that is bad in Australia,'' he said.

Robyn Bell and husband John were still yet to decide who would win their support, juggling a pile of how-to-vote cards.

Both were considering alternatives such as Palmer United and Katter's Australian Party, believing the main parties had been a letdown.

"I think they are only looking after themselves to get back in,'' Ms Bell said. "There is no foresight - it's just for now.''

Both the Labor and Liberal candidates vowed to work the booths until they closed at 6pm, spreading their time across the sprawling electorate.

- by Wes Hosking

La Trobe

LIBERAL Jason Wood has reclaimed La Trobe, the seat he lost in 2010.

The former police officer needed a 1.7 per cent swing to win, and surpassed this.

He said it felt "surreal" to be re-elected.

"My first goal is to make sure that, as a matter of urgency, that our election promises are met," he said.

"I can't thank enough the people who got behind me, and the Liberal Party again, and want them to know that I don't take their support for granted."

Mr Wood's parents, Bob and Jan, were at the Fountain Gate Hotel to share his victory with him and his supporters.

His promises for La Trobe included $2.4 million for a bushfire and rehabilitation program, $1 million for a crisis centre in Officer to help at-risk young people and $1.5 million for a specialist blind school at Monash University's Berwick campus.

Mr Wood won this seat in 2004, but was defeated by Labor's Laura Smyth in 2010.

Ms Smyth said she was proud of Labor's investment in education and mental health care during her time as MP.

CHISHOLM

THERE was a long queue at the Ashwood College even before voting polls opened at 8am. Chisholm is one of Victoria's marginal seats, with the Liberals needing a swing of 5.8 per cent to win the seat.

Federal Labor MP Anna Burke is out in full force, talking to her constituents and interacting with everyone lining up. Ms Burke seemed confident.

"The sun is shining, all is well in the world. It is up to the people to decide today. The feel on the ground has been pretty positive with the job I've been doing locally," Ms Burke said.

She said voters in her electorate had brought up many issues with her, which she said she would work hard to fix.

media_camera Labor canidate for Chisholm, Anna Burke talks to voters who were queing up to cast their votes.

Ms Burke said aged care, health and education were important to the people of Chisholm. She also said people were concerned about climate change and asylum seekers. Ms Burke cast her vote at the Ashwood College voting booth.

Liberal candidate for Chisholm John Nguyen was also at the polling booth interacting with voters. He ensured he spoke to almost everyone walking through the entrance.

"It is good to see people here and democracy working," Mr Nguyen said.

"Today is like the grand final, you have two good teams and it is up to the voters to decide," he said.

"People should vote Liberal, I have seen what has happened in the last three years under Labor - we have had a lack of infrastructure spending, students finishing university are worried they won't be able to find jobs and people in jobs are fearful of losing them," Mr Nguyen said.

"People care about the country's economy and they expect the government to manage their hard-earned money properly."

media_camera Liberal candidate for Chisholm, John Nguyen talks to voters.

"I am confident people will make good judgment," he said.

Both Anna Burke and John Nguyen moved on to other polling stations in the electorate, including Mount Wavlerley Primary School in Mount Waverley and East Oakleigh.

If Anna Burke loses her seat of Chisholm, she will still remain speaker until next parliament.

- by Kylie Adoranti

Originally published as Bandt holds seat of Melbourne