Disability advocate causes biggest upset of the election

Disability advocate and former world champion para-athlete, Ali France, has caused the biggest upset of the Australian federal election, winning the Brisbane seat of Dickson from the now former Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton.

It was a case of third time lucky for Ms France, who previously contested Dickson at the 2019 and 2022 federal elections and was told that “Dickson was not winnable and it wouldn't be winnable until Peter Dutton retired.” The win brought to an end Dutton’s 24 year run as the member for Dickson and marked the first time anyone has ever unseated an opposition leader at an Australian federal election.

Ms France had her leg amputated following a car accident in 2011. At the 2019 ballot, Peter Dutton accused Ms France of using her disability as an excuse for not moving into the Dickson electorate. Ms France responded that she had “searched high and low” but had been unable to find a wheelchair-accessible home and that, if elected, she would move to the electorate and renovate.

Ali France’s win in Dickson helped the Australian Labor Party to a landslide victory, with the conservative vote taking a battering and setting the Liberal-National Coalition on track for its worst ever result at a federal election. The Liberals have been “wiped off the map” in Adelaide and Tasmania and now have only a handful of seats in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.

While it had been speculated prior to the election that Labor may need the support of the Australian Greens or independents to form government, the election result ensures that it will now govern in its own right.

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