By
political reporter Alexandra Beech and Courtney Wilson – ABC news
The
Coalition has now pulled three seats ahead of Labor as additional election
results are counted.
The
ABC's election computer is now predicting the Liberal National Party will
retain the electorate ofPetrie in Brisbane's northern suburbs.
LNP
candidate Luke Howarth was facing a challenge from Labor candidate Jacqui
Pedersen in the marginal seat, but has pulled ahead.
Mr
Howarth said he was still watching the vote count closely.
"We're
over 1,200 votes ahead, which is more than my previous margin when I won in
2013 so it's very positive," he said.
"We
normally win postal votes so with more to count, we're very optimistic."
Earlier,
the South Australian electorate of Grey moved from "in doubt" to a
predicted Liberal-retained seat.
The
change means the Coalition has won 70 seats, while Labor has 67, with 80 per
cent of the vote counted. Eight seats are still in doubt.
Liberal
MP Rowan Ramsey has a projected preference count of 51.2 per cent in Grey, with
Nick Xenophon Team candidate Andrea Broadfoot on 48.8 per cent.
But
Ms Broadfoot has refused to concede, saying the Port Pirie and Whyalla booths
will not be counted until Friday and that numbers could still fluctuate.
"We've
still got lots of the big booths to count and we're expecting the numbers on
the virtual tally room to fluctuate as different booths are entered into the
system," Ms Broadfoot said.
"We're
quietly confident that we'll get it across the line and even if it's by one
vote we'd be really happy to represent the people of Grey."
The
outback electorate is usually considered a safe Liberal seat, and Mr Ramsey has
held it since 2007.
Earlier
today, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he was increasingly confident he
would be able to form a majority government, as more results come in, but ABC's
election analyst Antony Green cast doubt over that claim.
"There
are still seats leaning one way or the other and I think we're getting up to
70-70 with five others, which means if the Coalition wants to get to majority,
if those numbers hold up they can't get there," he said.
"I
think more of the seats which are in doubt are likely to be won by the
Coalition so I still think the Coalition will have more seats than Labor.
"But
it looks a difficult task for them to get to majority in their own right."
Mr
Green said the electorate of Chisholm in Melbourne remained in doubt but it was
looking like the Liberal Party could hold the seat.
He
said there had also been a slight shift towards the Liberals in the in-doubt
Adelaide seat of Hindmarsh.
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