ALP's Arch Bevis loses seat of Brisbane

Long-time Labor incumbent Arch Bevis has conceded the loss of his Brisbane seat to
the Liberal National Party's Teresa Gambaro.
Mr Bevis, 55, told AAP on Monday evening he had given up hope of retaining the seat
he has held for 20 years.
"I don't believe I can win from here," he said.
"There's still about 7000 votes to count, but it would take a minor miracle in
political terms."
Ms Gambaro currently leads the count by just over 1000 votes.
Mr Bevis said a redistribution of boundaries in his electorate, taking in prime
Liberal voting territory, meant he was always in fear of losing the seat.
But the redistribution was not the only reason for Labor's poor performance at the
polls, he said.
Other factors included the unpopularity of the Queensland government and poor
message to constituents spruiking Labor's successes, especially its stimulus package
that kept the country afloat during the global financial crisis, Mr Bevis said.
"There's enough responsibility for this to share around with all of us, and I don't
think there's anything constructive to be had by singling out a person.
"What I do think is important, is there is a genuine, thorough, brutally honest
review of how we ended up in this position.
"We do have to have a good hard look at how we got to this position when we should
not have been in this position."
This leaves Labor and the coalition with 72 seats each in the House of
Representatives - fewer than the 76 needed for a majority.
That leaves four independents, a West Australian Nationals MP and a Greens MP
deciding who will form the next government.
Comment is being sought from Ms Gambaro.