Refresh your browser regularly for all the latest
THE Cowper contest has drawn national attention with the decision of former Independent MP Rob Oakeshott to contest the seat. He is up against the sitting member Luke Hartsuyker from the Nationals, who holds the seat with a margin of more than 13 per cent.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Rolling results update
Who’s saying what
9.30: Rob Oakeshott speaks to his supporters as the votes get counted. He says it's going to come down to preferences and whoever wins will have a job to do. He said regardless of whether he wins or not, the community of Cowper has won at this election.
9PM: Independent candidate Rob Oakeshott and his supporters are gathering to watch the results roll in. He told supporters the result would depend on The Greens and Labor preferences. “We are still waiting on three or four big central booths.” Click the photo below to read the whole story
8.30PM: Here’s how the AEC virtual tally room has it looking so far for Cowper:
6PM: That’s it. The polls are shut and counting is getting underway. Hartsuyker is back in Coffs Harbour and Rob Oakeshott has set up camp in Port Macquarie.
5pm: At the northern end of the electorate voters were rugging up at Dorrigo for treats at the cake stall and enjoying the relaxed atmosphere in Bellingen. Click the photo below to see the gallery
3.45pm: When Rob Oakeshott drew a line in the sand on ballot draw day, the race for the seat of Cowper was officially declared.
Incumbent Luke Hartsuyker has spent most of Saturday rallying the troops in Port Macquarie while Oakeshott chose to start his election day campaign north in Coffs Harbour. Click the photo below to read the whole story
2pm: Photographer Ivan Sajko toured some polling places in Port Macquarie on election day. You might recognise a face or two ...
12.45pm: Hastings Public School has a cake stall and big sausage sizzle going.
They sold out of their delicious 'Plebislice' early on but plenty of tasty treats left. Raising money for classroom blinds.
Not just to be environmentally friendly but to also make kids feel safe during a lockdown situation. They need $14,000 to buy them for every classroom. Yes, that’s a lot of slice!
11.35am: Lisa Toomey of Port Macquarie is voting today for the first time as an Australian citizen. And for the former US-born resident, Australian politics is surprisingly played out more maturely than in her homeland. Read more
11am: Voting is probably the last thing Gabrielle Potts-Todd thought she’d be doing on her 18th birthday. Gabrielle of Port Macquarie was celebrating her special milestone birthday in very long voting queues at Westport High School on Saturday morning. Read more
10.15am: Luke Hartsuyker has voted – in Port Macquarie – and he has one last word ...
7.58am: A long day is in store and who can’t agree with these sentiments …
FRIDAY:
Penny Snowden from Kempsey - spoke to her outside the polling booths in Centrepoint Arcade on Friday - she says she was planning to vote on Saturday
“The very most important issue to me is the fact that people only vote for the issues that they are interested in. I’m a comfortably retired person. I’m not on the breadline or anything like that, however, I have great empathy for the people who are,” she said.
“I think that anybody who doesn’t give some tax relief to people that are in that situation doesn’t deserve to be prime minister.”
Penny said while she is “a hardcore Labor voter” and “definitely to the left of centre” she was pleased to see Rob Oakeshott back in the mix.
“In our own election I’m glad to see that Rob Oakeshott has given them a surprise by coming back at a sensible time towards the end,” she said.
“I think he did a good job in the electorate he was in last time which was Lyne. He’s energetic, he’s intelligent, he’s articulate and that’s the sort of person we need.”
WHAT’S GONE BEFORE
In recent days a number of political heavyweights have lined up in support of Hartsuyker as panic sets in at the possible dramatic return of Oakeshott to Parliament: Coalition wheels out the big guns
Port Macquarie was moved into Cowper in the NSW electoral redistribution earlier this year. The electorate covers an area from Port Macquarie in the south to Coffs Harbour in the north.
Port Macquarie-Hastings local government area will fall into two federal electorates – story here
The main towns include Bellingen, Bowraville, Coffs Harbour, Crescent Head, Dorrigo, Gladstone, Hat Head, Kempsey, Macksville, Nambucca Heads, Sawtell, South West Rocks, Port Macquarie, Ulong and Urunga.
In total, there are seven candidates in the running for the seat of Cowper:
1 Wayne Lawrence – Christian Democratic Party
2 Michael Gough – Citizens Electoral Council
3 Carol Vernon – The Greens
4 Damian Wood – ALP
5 Rob Oakeshott – Independent
6 Luke Hartsuyker – The Nationals
7 Jon Arkan – Independent
The order on the ballot paper was determined by a random draw.
Meet the candidates – read detailed profiles here
WHERE to VOTE
For a full list of polling places – click here