Marino cautious over claiming victory

Nola Marino is refusing to declare herself the winner of the seat of Forrest despite holding a significant advantage after Saturday’s Federal election.

Amid uncertainty about who will lead Australia, it appears Liberal candidate Mrs Marino will claim the seat she has held since 2007.

With about 82 per cent of the votes counted yesterday, Mrs Marino held 61.9 per cent of the two-party preferred vote, which was ahead of Labor’s Lorrae Loud on 38.1 per cent.

Mrs Marino said she was pleased that people had supported her during a time that Labor gained ground on her party around Australia.

“My focus during any Federal election is on the Forrest electorate but for the moment only about 75 per cent of the votes have been counted,” she said.

“It appears that I have received strong support from the people but there are still many more votes to be counted.

“I’m always very careful and cautious until we have the final result.”

Mrs Marino said the lead-up to the Federal election indicated it would be very tight between the two main parties and she was non-committal about what the outcome would be.

“The polling told us it would be very close and it has proved to be exceptionally close,” she said.

“The counting is still going on and once it’s done then we’ll know who has won.

“You can’t forecast what’s going to happen and we need to wait for the final count.”

Mrs Marino said as the chief government whip, she would support all her party’s members during an uncertain time.

“I support all our members, especially those going through tough times or whether that’s during elections or not – that’s what I do,” she said.

Mrs Marino had received 49 per cent of first preference votes until yesterday with Ms Loud receiving 23.6 per cent, Greens candidate Jill Reading claiming 12 per cent and Nationals candidate Luke Pilkington receiving 5.1 per cent.

Independent Ross Slater has received 3.4 per cent of first preference votes so far, Outdoor Recreation Party candidate David Fishlock has claimed 2.8 per cent, Australian Christians’ Edward Dabrowski has claimed 2.2 per cent and Rise Up Australia candidate Jennifer Whately has received 1.9 per cent.