Caz Heise Media Release:

Late this afternoon I publicly conceded that the Member for Cowper Pat Conaghan has retained the seat of Cowper .

I had always accepted that beating Mr Conaghan would not be easy given he held Cowper by a margin of more than 11% and so while naturally I’m disappointed I’m in the mood to celebrate all that we have done together.

It’s been an incredible privilege to run as the Independent Candidate in the seat of Cowper and I am extremely heartened by the movement we have created in our region and the very close race we were able to mount.

I am relieved to see the values of the people of Cowper are more closely reflected in the government of Australia again. 

We have a new Prime Minister committed to supporting the Uluṟu Statement from the Heart, a federal ICAC, aged care residents and workers being treated with dignity and respect, the Biloela family returned to their community and real action on climate change!

Thank you to all of the generous and wonderful volunteers who have worked alongside me for grass roots democracy and to elevate our collective community voice. 

Thank you as well to the hundreds of local people whose generous donations enabled us to run a dynamic campaign which dramatically slashed the Nationals margin in Cowper.

I will continue to be a proud and vocal advocate for the community.

The Voices 4 Cowper will be back in three years and I intend to put my name forward to enter the preselection process again.

It is time to regroup, reflect, plan and continue consulting. 

Our work is not over Cowper. 

Onwards and upwards!.

Party | Candidate | First preference % | # Votes | Primary Swing

Nationals | Pat Conaghan | 40.5% | 40,611 | -6.5%

Independent | Caz Heise | 26.7% | 26,721 | +26.7%

Labor Party | Keith McMullen | 13.7% | 13,686 | -0.1%

One Nation | Faye Aspiotis | 7.9% | 7,977 | +7.9%

Greens | Timothy Nott | 5.3% |5,362 | -0.6%

Liberal Democrats | Simon Chaseling | 3.5% | 3,562 | -0.6%

United Australia | Joshua Fairhall | 2.3% | 2,303 | -0.7%

Informal Votes | 4.6% | 4,601

Total Votes Counted | 105,022

Cowper count continues

Labor wins 2022 federal election, 2 seats away from majority government, 7 seats still in play.

Anthony Albanese will return Labor from the political wilderness to government, seizing power from the Coalition after it has been almost a decade in office.

While it remains unclear if Labor can form a majority, the ALP is on track to finish ahead of the Coalition and more likely to reach a minority government, the ABC has projected.

"The Coalition cannot get into government," ABC election analyst Antony Green said.

This win means Mr Albanese will replace Scott Morrison as Prime Minister, making him the 31st person to hold the nation's top job.

The son of a single parent who grew up in public housing, Mr Albanese has reached the pinnacle of his career after 26 years in the parliament.

"It is an incredible honour," Mr Albanese told reporters after leaving his house to head to speak at a party event.

Introduced by Labor Senate Leader Penny Wong, Mr Albanese took to the stage and claimed victory.

"I say to my fellow Australians, thank you for this extraordinary honour," he said.

"Tonight the Australian people have voted for change.

"I am humbled by this victory and I'm honoured to be given the opportunity to serve as the 31st Prime Minister of Australia."