Fielding officially loses Senate seat

Dumped senator Steve Fielding has vowed to continue to make his presence felt in the
nine months he has left in federal parliament.
After clinging on to a faint hope he might retain his seat, the Family First leader
finally conceded defeat when votes below the line were counted on Thursday, nearly
four weeks after the August 21 election.
The Democratic Labor Party (DLP) has returned to Canberra for the first time in 36
years with Ballarat blacksmith John Madigan claiming the sixth Victorian seat,
pushing Senator Fielding out after one term.
Senator Fielding will see out his fixed six-year term on June 30 next year.
"It's obviously disappointing to lose the seat but seeing we have fixed terms in the
senate we'll still be looking to stand up for families in the next nine months," a
spokesman for Senator Fielding said.
The spokesman said the defeat would not change Senator Fielding's stance in the Senate.
"We'll be treating every piece of legislation on its merits," he said.
Although he looked likely to lose ever since early votes came in on election day,
Senator Fielding believed he still had a "very slim" chance of keeping his seat
before Thursday.
But the computerised counting of the final three per cent of ballot papers in which
voters ranked candidates from one to 60, didn't give him enough preferences and
officially gave the seat to Mr Madigan.
The Liberals' Julian McGauran also lost his seat while Richard Di Natale boosts the
Greens' presence in the upper house.
The Nationals' Bridget McKenzie replaced the retired Judith Troeth, while the
Liberals' Michael Ronaldson and Labor ministers Stephen Conroy and Kim Carr were
returned.
The Australian Electoral Commission said the successful candidates will be
officially declared on Friday.