Bennelong byelection win saves Turnbull's majority
16 Dec 2017 4:57 PM GMT
Malcolm Turnbull has preserved his one-seat lower house majority, with the Liberal John Alexander holding on in the Bennelong byelection.
After a ferocious on-ground campaign in the north Sydney seat, Alexander prevailed on Saturday night over his Labor rival, Kristina Keneally, despite a two-party-preferred swing against the government of just over 5percent.
The Liberals breathed a sigh of relief at the result, because the outcome was critical for the Turnbull government's fortunes and for the prime minister's internal authority, given Turnbull has battled both events and dissent for much of 2017. Kristina Keneally jubilant in defeat as Bennelong voters please both sides As the brutal political year drew to a close, Turnbull used Barnaby Joyce's return in the recent New England byelection and the subsequent passage of marriage equality legislation, as well as the recent bare-knuckle political assault on the Labor senator Sam Dastyari over his contact with Chinese donors, to shore up his position.
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