Latest result confirms the Australian election went down to the wire

You won’t believe it, but the final seat from this year’s Federal election has finally been confirmed and it proves just how tight this year’s result was.

The seat of Herbert in north Queensland has gone to Labor by just 37 votes, which leaves Malcolm Turnbull with the barest majority of one seat in Parliament.

There is a murmuring that the Queensland Liberal Nationals will probe claims that some voters — such as Australian Defence Force personnel — did not get the chance to vote in the electorate before deciding on whether to challenge the outcome.

“The LNP is examining a number of issues reported to the part to determine if all Herbert electors were given the opportunity to vote, a spokesperson for the party told the Sydney Morning Herald.

After almost four weeks the Australian Electoral Commission has confirmed that Labor’s Cathy O’Toole will take the Townsville-based seat from Liberal incumbent Ewen Jones.

This means the Turnbull Government has 76 seats, while Labor and the crossbenchers combine to make up the other 74 seats. Further, once the Speaker has been confirmed it is expected the Coalition will have just 75 votes in Parliament, making is the smallest of small margins from which to govern.

The result places additional pressure on prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to ensure that the Coalition remains unified.

Did the final seat take too long to get decided? What do you think will happen now that it has been confirmed? What would you like to happen?