Early surge in support for Labor as votes are counted
Labor has received a surge of support from voters as early federal election results show a swing towards the Albanese government.
With about five per cent of the national vote counted, Labor received strong positive swings in key marginal seats in Tasmania and Queensland.
Labor also received a 5.1 per cent swing in Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s seat of Dickson in Brisbane, with just more than six per cent of the vote counted.
The government had also seen an uptick in votes in battleground seats such as Gilmore in NSW’s south coast.
However, senior Labor figures are treating the early positive results with caution, with concern the on-the-day vote will favour the government more heavily before pre-poll votes turn the tide back to the coalition.
Nationally, there has been a 3.2 per cent swing to Labor over the coalition, with the government ahead 55.3 per cent to 44.7 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said it was still too early to say whether the early swings meant a second term in office was on the cards.
“It’s really important to remind everyone that we expect the early voting to be weaker for us than the on-the-day voting. That’s a caveat that applies around the country,” he said.
It hasn’t been all rosy signs for the government, with swings to independents in traditional Labor strongholds of Bean in the ACT and Franklin in Tasmania.
Mr Dutton said he was still upbeat about the party’s fortunes, but also admitted it would be a tough fight to form government.
“We believe in miracles, but it’s tough. I mean, a first term government hasn’t lost since 1931 and the government’s run a campaign which obviously has been effective in terms of the mud that they’ve thrown,” he told the Nine Network.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be watching the results come in from Sydney, with Labor holding its election night function at the Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL, the same location of its 2022 victory party.
Meanwhile, Mr Dutton will spend election night in his home city of Brisbane, as the coalition has its official function at the W Hotel.
The Greens are hoping to be kingmakers in a minority government, with party leader Adam Bandt hosting an election night event in Melbourne.
However, the minor party has seen swings against it in the three seats it holds in Brisbane, which it won in 2022.
Labor has been leading in national opinion polls throughout the gruelling five-week campaign, but coalition figures are still hoping voters will swing back to the opposition.
Labor starts the night on 78 seats, with the coalition on 57 and 15 on the cross bench, with 76 needed for a majority.
Coalition campaign spokesman James Paterson admitted anger from voters against US President Donald Trump had been a drag on support for right-wing parties.
“One fact I think we can all acknowledge and recognise is the Donald Trump factor. It was devastating in Canada for the Conservatives where the Canadian Conservative leader lost 20 points over the course of a few months,” he told ABC, referring to the country’s recent election.
“That has been a factor here.”
Vote count begins as Australians await election result
Vote counting is under way in the federal election as Australians wait to learn who will lead the nation for the next three years.
As early figures start to come in, both major parties are expressing cautious optimism about the election outcome.
Voting has closed in all states and territories except Western Australia.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be watching the results come in from Sydney, with Labor holding its election night function at the Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL, the same location of its 2022 victory party.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will spend election night in his home city of Brisbane, as the coalition has its official function at the W Hotel.
The Greens will be hoping to be kingmakers in a minority government, with party leader Adam Bandt hosting an election night event in Melbourne.
Labor has been leading in national opinion polls throughout the gruelling five-week campaign, but coalition figures are still hoping soft voters will swing back to the opposition.
Labor start the night on 78 seats, with the coalition on 57 and 15 on the crossbench, with 76 needed for a majority.
A hung parliament has been touted as a likely option.
As votes start to come in, Mr Albanese has thanked party supporters in an email, saying serving as prime minister had been the “greatest honour” of his life.
“We don’t know the result yet, but what I do know is that we can be incredibly proud of the positive campaign we have run over the past five weeks,” he said.
“It’s one of the biggest campaigns we’ve ever done.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said national opinion polls may not paint the true picture of the election outcome.
“Polls are almost completely useless this time around because there are half a dozen different kinds of contest,” he told the ABC.
“You’ve got Nationals versus independents … you’ve got Liberals versus teals, you’ve got a three–way contest …that is why it will be especially unpredictable.”
Coalition senator James McGrath said it was too early to tell how the opposition campaign had been judged.
“What Peter Dutton has done, considering the avalanche of people against us … the fact that we have been competitive in this campaign is a minor miracle,” he said.
Polls close on election day as Australians await winner
Polls have closed across eastern states and the count has begun to determine the make up of Australia’s next federal parliament.
After a five-week campaign, results will be soon be known for who will lead the nation for the next three years.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will watch the vote count come in from Sydney, while Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will spend election night in his home city of Brisbane.
Labor has been ahead in the polls throughout the campaign with a second term in office in their sights, but the coalition is hoping to defy history and claim a miracle win.
A hung parliament, where neither party claim the 76 seats needed to form majority government, is also touted as a possibility on election night.
Labor sent out text messages to voters during polling day about the Greens’ decision to not preference Labor in the ultra-marginal Victorian seat of Deakin, held by the Liberals.
“Preferences are critical in keeping Dutton out and this decision by Adam Bandt will put in jeopardy Labor forming government,” the text message reads.
In the nation’s capital, Canberrans took advantage of the city’s democratic heritage by voting at Old Parliament House.
In Victoria, Kooyong MP Monique Ryan was being stopped by a journalist when a bird in a tree pooped on her.
The Liberals are desperate to wrest the seat back from the teal independent, which was previously held by former treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
At Mount Nelson Primary School in Hobart, a twist was added to the treats on offer in addition to the beloved democracy sausage.
Jacqui Lambingtons, eClair Chandlers and Brown’s Brownies have made cake stall appearances as part of the fun.
Christine Palmer, a school parent managing the cake stall, said the kids had come up with the names.
Creative cake stalls have popped up all around the country, including a sign in Sydney “Make Australia Bake Again” and the “Crumpet of Patriots”.
In Western Australia, which was crucial to delivering Mr Albanese his 2022 election win, independent MP Kate Chaney is fighting to hang onto her marginal seat of Curtin.
Casting her vote at a primary school in Perth’s wealthier suburbs, she said the attack ads had been “thicker, faster and more desperate”.
“The major parties are deeply threatened by the idea of a parliament that actually holds them to account,” she told reporters.
“The hardest part is probably this part, the constant media scrutiny and the personal attacks … this is the reason more people don’t want to go into politics.”
Mr Albanese is aiming to become the first prime minister since 2004 to win back-to-back elections, while Mr Dutton fights to overcome history as the first leader since 1931 to unseat a government after one term.
Speaking at the MCG in Melbourne earlier on Saturday, the prime minister said Labor was after the “holy grail” of winning back-to-back elections.
He did the rounds on morning TV, giving a number of interviews.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers urged Australians to vote for stability in a period of global uncertainty.
“We are so grateful for the opportunity that the people of Australia have given us and we seek another term with humility,” he said.
The final YouGov poll before election day shows Labor in the box seat to form majority government.
The poll, provided to AAP, has Labor ahead 52.2 per cent to 47.8 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.
Mr Albanese also leads Mr Dutton 51 per cent to 34 per cent as preferred prime minister.
Labor went into election day with 78 seats, while the coalition had 57 in the 150-seat House of Representatives.
Leaders catch breath as campaign bus reaches final stop
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have paused for the day before the two leaders attend political events in the evening.
As polling booths in the eastern states prepare to close at 6pm, both leaders finished up on the final stops of their campaigns.
The prime minister earlier cast his ballot in his Sydney seat of Grayndler, while the opposition leader arrived in Brisbane to vote in his Dickson electorate.
Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton have spent the last five weeks crisscrossing the country in a gruelling election campaign, visiting up to three states a day and crucial marginal seats.
Labor sent out text messages to voters during polling day about the Greens’ decision to not preference Labor in the ultra-marginal Victorian seat of Deakin, held by the Liberals.
“Preferences are critical in keeping Dutton out and this decision by Adam Bandt will put in jeopardy Labor forming government,” the text message reads.
In the nation’s capital, Canberrans took advantage of the city’s democratic heritage by voting at Old Parliament House.
In Victoria, Kooyong MP Monique Ryan was being stopped by a journalist when a bird in a tree pooed on her.
The Liberals are desperate to wrest the seat back from the teal independent, which was previously held by former treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
At Mount Nelson Primary School in Hobart, a twist was added to the treats on offer in addition to the beloved democracy sausage.
Jacqui Lambingtons, eClair Chandlers and Brown’s Brownies have made cake stall appearances as part of the fun.
Christine Palmer, a school parent managing the cake stall, said the kids had come up with the names.
Creative cake stalls have popped up all around the country, including a sign in Sydney “Make Australia Bake Again” and the “Crumpet of Patriots”.
In Western Australia, which was crucial to delivering Mr Albanese his 2022 election win, independent MP Kate Chaney is fighting to hang onto her marginal seat of Curtin.
Casting her vote at a primary school in Perth’s wealthier suburbs, she said the attack ads had been “thicker, faster and more desperate”.
“The major parties are deeply threatened by the idea of a parliament that actually holds them to account,” she told reporters.
“The hardest part is probably this part, the constant media scrutiny and the personal attacks … this is the reason more people don’t want to go into politics.”
Mr Albanese is aiming to become the first prime minister since 2004 to win back-to-back elections, while Mr Dutton fights to overcome history as the first leader since 1931 to unseat a government after one term.
Speaking at the MCG in Melbourne earlier on Saturday, the prime minister said Labor was after the “holy grail” of winning back-to-back elections.
He did the rounds on morning TV, giving a number of interviews.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers urged Australians to vote for stability in a period of global uncertainty.
“We are so grateful for the opportunity that the people of Australia have given us and we seek another term with humility,” he said.
The final YouGov poll before election day shows Labor in the box seat to form majority government.
The poll, provided to AAP, has Labor ahead 52.2 per cent to 47.8 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.
Mr Albanese also leads Mr Dutton 51 per cent to 34 per cent as preferred prime minister.
Labor went into election day with 78 seats, while the coalition had 57 in the 150-seat House of Representatives.
A majority of 76 seats is needed for a party to form government.
Dog-eat-dog election campaign reaches final hours
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have made the final stops of their election campaigns as the clock ticks towards closing time at polling booths in the eastern states.
The prime minister cast his ballot in his Sydney seat of Grayndler, with the opposition leader arriving in Brisbane to vote in his Dickson electorate.
It caps off five weeks of crisscrossing the country for both leaders, who covered massive distances and a number of crucial marginal seats.
With voters stalled in long queues at some voting centres, there’s little time left before 6pm closing in the east.
Labor was sending text messages to voters during polling day, attacking the Greens and the Liberals.
In the nation’s capital, Canberrans took advantage of the city’s democratic heritage by voting at Old Parliament House.
In Victoria, Kooyong MP Monique Ryan was being stopped by a journalist when a bird in a tree pooed on her.
The Liberals are desperate to wrest the seat back from the teal independent, which was previously held by former treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
At Mount Nelson Primary School in Hobart, a twist was added to the treats on offer in addition to the beloved democracy sausage.
Jacqui Lambingtons, eClair Chandlers and Brown’s Brownies have made cake stall appearances as part of the fun.
Christine Palmer, a school parent managing the cake stall, said the kids had come up with the names.
Creative cake stalls have popped up all around the country, including a sign in Sydney “Make Australia Bake Again” and the “Crumpet of Patriots”.
In Western Australia, which was crucial to delivering Mr Albanese his 2022 election win, independent MP Kate Chaney fights to hang onto her marginal seat of Curtin.
Casting her vote at a primary school in Perth’s wealthy suburbs, Ms Chaney said the attack ads had been “thicker, faster and more desperate”.
“The major parties are deeply threatened by the idea of a parliament that actually holds them to account,” she told reporters.
“The hardest part is probably this part, the constant media scrutiny and the personal attacks … this is the reason more people don’t want to go into politics.”
Mr Albanese aims to become the first prime minister since 2004 to win back-to-back elections, while Mr Dutton fights to overcome history as the first leader since 1931 to unseat a government after one term.
Speaking at the MCG in Melbourne, the prime minister said Labor was after the “holy grail” of winning back-to-back elections.
He did the rounds on morning TV, giving a number of interviews.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers urged Australians to vote for stability in a period of global uncertainty.
“We are so grateful for the opportunity that the people of Australia have given us and we seek another term with humility,” he said.
The final YouGov poll before election day shows Labor in the box seat to form majority government.
The poll, provided to AAP, has Labor ahead 52.2 per cent to 47.8 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.
Based on the survey of more than 3000 people, Labor would slightly increases its vote from the 2022 election by 0.07 per cent.
The coalition would receive 31.4 per cent of the primary vote, followed by Labor on 31.1 per cent, with the Greens on 14.6 per cent.
Mr Albanese also leads Mr Dutton 51 per cent to 34 per cent as preferred prime minister.
The Australian Electoral Commission said on Friday more than 7.3 million people had already cast their ballot, while more than 10 million are expected to vote on Saturday.
Labor went into election day with 78 seats, while the coalition had 57 in the 150-seat House of Representatives.
A majority of 76 seats is needed for a party to form government.
Final pitch to voters in last leg of election campaign
Final federal election pitches are being made with party leaders reaching the home stretch of their campaigns as voters around the country cast ballots.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived in his Sydney seat of Grayndler to cast his vote.
Long lines have formed at polling centres in Australia’s largest cities after opening at 8am on Saturday.
In the nation’s capital, Canberrans took advantage of the city’s democratic heritage by voting at Old Parliament House.
At Mount Nelson Primary School in Hobart, a twist was added to the treats on offer in addition to the beloved democracy sausage.
Jacqui Lambingtons, eClair Chandlers and Brown’s Brownies have all made cake stall appearances as part of the fun.
Christine Palmer, a school parent managing the cake stall, said the kids had come up with the names.
Creative cake stalls have popped up all around the country, including a sign in Sydney “Make Australia Bake Again” and the “Crumpet of Patriots”.
In Western Australia, which was crucial to delivering Mr Albanese his 2022 election win, independent MP Kate Chaney fights to hang onto her marginal seat of Curtin.
Casting her vote at a primary school in Perth’s wealthy suburbs, Ms Chaney said the attack ads had been “thicker, faster and more desperate”.
“The major parties are deeply threatened by the idea of a parliament that actually holds them to account,” she told reporters.
“The hardest part is probably this part, the constant media scrutiny and the personal attacks … this is the reason more people don’t want to go into politics.”
Mr Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton are making their final pitches for votes as they continue travelling on election day, after crisscrossing the country for the last five weeks to win support in a number of crucial marginal seats.
The pair turned to democracy pooches, and were often snapped cuddling cute dogs.
Some 10 million people are expected to vote on polling day, after more than seven million voted early at pre-poll centres.
Mr Albanese aims to become the first prime minister since 2004 to win back-to-back elections, while Mr Dutton fights to overcome history to be the first leader since 1931 to unseat a government after one term.
Speaking at the MCG in Melbourne, Mr Albanese said Labor aims for the “holy grail” of winning back-to-back elections.
The prime minister did the rounds on morning TV, giving a number of interviews.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers urged Australians to vote for stability in a period of global uncertainty.
“We are so grateful for the opportunity that the people of Australia have given us and we seek another term with humility,” he said.
The final YouGov poll before election day shows Labor in the box seat to form majority government.
The poll, provided to AAP, has Labor ahead 52.2 per cent to 47.8 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.
Based on the survey of more than 3000 people, Labor would slightly increases its vote from the 2022 election by 0.07 per cent.
The coalition would receive 31.4 per cent of the primary vote, followed by Labor on 31.1 per cent, with the Greens on 14.6 per cent.
Mr Albanese also leads Mr Dutton 51 per cent to 34 per cent as preferred prime minister.
The Australian Electoral Commission said on Friday more than 7.3 million people had already cast their ballot, while more than 10 million are expected to vote on Saturday.
Labor goes into election day with 78 seats, while the coalition have 57 in the 150-seat House of Representatives.
A majority of 76 seats is needed for a party to form government.
Early birds cast ballots with millions more to follow
The traditional democracy sausage has been upstaged by Jacqui Lambingtons at a Tasmanian primary school, as voters across the country cast their ballots.
Polling booths have opened in Western Australia, with the mining state two hours behind those on the east coast and long queues already forming at voting centres in Sydney.
Some 10 million people are expected to vote on Saturday, after more than seven million voted early at pre-poll centres.
At the Mount Nelson Primary School in Hobart, a twist had been added to the treats on offer for voters.
Jacqui Lambingtons, eClair Chandler, and Brown’s Brownies are all part of the fun.
Christine Palmer, a school parent managing the cake stall, said the kids had come up with the names.
“They’re all pretty creative,” she said.
“The year sixes have done a great job and had some fun with it. We sell out by midday.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton crisscrossed the country to win support in crucial marginal seats during the five-week campaign.
Mr Albanese aims to become the first prime minister since 2004 to win back-to-back elections, while Mr Dutton fights to overcome history to be the first leader since 1931 to unseat a government after one term.
Speaking at the MCG in Melbourne, Mr Albanese said Labor aims for the “holy grail” of winning back-to-back elections.
The final YouGov poll before election day shows Labor in the box seat to form majority government.
The poll, provided to AAP, has Labor ahead 52.2 per cent to 47.8 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.
Based on the survey of more than 3000 people, Labor would slightly increases its vote from the 2022 election by 0.07 per cent.
The coalition would receive 31.4 per cent of the primary vote, followed by Labor on 31.1 per cent, with the Greens on 14.6 per cent.
One Nation would get 8.5 per cent of the primary vote, with 6.7 per cent voting for an independent, while 2.5 per cent would go for Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots party.
The opposition leader’s satisfaction level among voters has also plummeted to its lowest level at minus 24, compared with minus six for the prime minister.
Mr Albanese also leads Mr Dutton 51 per cent to 34 per cent as preferred prime minister.
YouGov’s director of public data Paul Smith said Mr Dutton’s standing among voters had been the contributing factor to Labor’s success in the polls.
“The decisive fall for the coalition among outer-suburban and provincial votes in key seats will mean Labor will be placed to improve slightly their total over (the last election),” he told AAP.
“The driving force this election campaign is the unpopularity of Peter Dutton.”
The YouGov poll also revealed 38 per cent of those surveyed had already cast their ballot during the pre-poll period.
The Australian Electoral Commission said on Friday more than 7.3 million people had already cast their ballot, while more than 10 million are expected to vote on Saturday.
Labor goes into election day with 78 seats, while the coalition have 57 in the 150-seat House of Representatives.
A majority of 76 seats is needed for a party to form government.
The YouGov poll of 3003 people was carried out between April 24 and May 1, with a margin of error of 2.3 per cent.
Canadian PM expects ‘constructive’ talks with Trump
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he will be in Washington DC next week for what he expects will be “difficult but constructive” talks with US President Donald Trump, who he has accused of trying to break Canada.
Carney, fresh from a victorious election campaign focused on standing up to Trump, said the two neighbours need to create new security and defence ties.
“Our old relationship, based on steadily increasing integration, is over. The questions now are how our nations will co-operate in the future and where we in Canada will move on,” he told a press conference.
Trump has imposed tariffs on some Canadian goods.
Carney regularly termed the US actions as a betrayal and says Canada must reduce its reliance on the United States, which takes 75 per cent of all Canadian exports.
Carney said the focus of Tuesday’s “comprehensive set of meetings” with Trump and senior officials would be on immediate trade pressures, such as the tariffs, and the long-term future.
“I go there with the expectation of difficult but constructive discussions. That’s the spirit of the conversations that the president and I had,” said Carney, who spoke to Trump on Tuesday and on March 28.
“I’m not pretending those discussions will be easy … there will be zigs and zags, ups and downs,” he said.
The meeting will be the first between the two men since Carney entered Canadian politics in January.
Carney did not respond directly when asked whether the US tariffs would have to be lifted for formal negotiations to start.
Carney, an ex-central banker, said his experience in crisis management meant he was the best person to tackle Trump.
The Liberals, who had trailed badly in the polls as recently as January, rebounded to win Monday’s election.
Asked whether Trump had spoken on Tuesday about Canada becoming the 51st state, Carney replied, “He did not”.
Although the Liberals fell a few seats short of a majority in the elected House of Commons, Carney said he had a strong mandate and ruled out any kind of formal alliance with the smaller progressive New Democrats.
Carney said he would unveil his cabinet in the week starting May 12 and reveal the government’s plans on May 27 in what is known as the speech from the throne.
It will be delivered by King Charles, Canada’s head of state.
Feuding journo and veteran stare down over taped call
A decorated journalist says he was “utterly surprised” when a recording of a secret call emerged amid his legal battle with alleged war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith.
Nick McKenzie portrayed the former elite soldier as a war criminal in reports he penned for Nine newspapers in 2018 – a claim which a judge later found was true on the balance of probabilities.
But a secretly recorded call in which the journalist claims he “breached my f***ing ethics” sparked a fresh bid by Roberts-Smith to overturn the war criminal finding.
In the call, McKenzie tells a former lover of Roberts-Smith that the soldier’s ex-wife and her best friend Danielle Scott were “actively briefing” him on the former soldier’s legal strategy.
“I was utterly surprised,” McKenzie on Friday said about the secret recording that emerged in March.
Yet he accepted the ex-lover had raised concerns about his ethics and claimed he had shared privileged information with her when she threatened to sue him and Nine over their conduct in the case.
The award-winning journalist accepted that receiving legally privileged information would be wrong but maintained he had never possessed such information.
He said he had shared all relevant information with his lawyers, who did not advise him the information was privileged or that he had acted improperly.
Roberts-Smith’s lawyer Arthur Moses SC asked whether McKenzie had considered how Ms Scott knew about Roberts-Smith’s legal tactics.
The journalist replied it was a natural conclusion the information was “hearsay” that had arisen when the soldier’s ex-wife was “gossiping” to her best friend, who in turn told him.
McKenzie resisted suggestions from Mr Moses that he was lying or trying to deceive the Federal Court.
As he strode out of the courtroom in Sydney after five long hours of cross-examination, the journalist locked eyes with Roberts-Smith and the pair exchanged a cold look.
Roberts-Smith rose to prominence in 2011 after he was awarded Australia’s highest military honour, the Victoria Cross, for single-handedly taking out machine-gun posts to protect pinned-down colleagues in Afghanistan.
But his reputation was tarnished in 2018 when McKenzie wrote explosive reports alleging the special forces veteran was complicit in the murder of four unarmed men during his deployment in Afghanistan.
In June 2023, Justice Anthony Besanko found the reports had been proven on the balance of probabilities – a lower standard than in a criminal proceeding.
An appeal against those findings was heard in early-2024.
But Roberts-Smith has claimed this week McKenzie’s alleged use of unlawfully obtained details should also be considered before the court decides on the appeal.
Audio of part of the call was sent anonymously to Roberts-Smith’s lawyers in an email titled “Secret McKenzie recording” after the hearing concluded.
“We’re not learning like we anticipated most of it. One or two things now we know, which is helpful,” McKenzie is recorded saying.
“I shouldn’t tell you. I’ve just breached my f***ing ethics in doing that, like this has put me in a s*** position now.”
McKenzie, who has won 16 Walkley Awards, admitted in evidence on Thursday that he had “on occasion” used deceptive methods to obtain information in his role as a journalist if the matter was in the public interest.
“I try to act within the law. There (are) occasion(s) where as a journalist there can be things that you might do that conflict with the law,” the journalist said.
Closing submissions on the bid to re-open the appeal were heard on Friday afternoon.
A decision is expected at a later date.
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‘Big moment’: world’s largest electric ship launched
Powered by more than 250 tonnes of batteries and with the ability to carry 2100 passengers, Hull 096 has been hailed as one of Australia’s greatest exports.
The 130m-long vessel, officially launched in Hobart by shipbuilder Incat on Friday, is the world’s largest battery-electric ship.
It was commissioned by South American ferry operator Buquebus and will take people, as well as 225 vehicles, between Argentina and Uruguay.
“I’ve been in the marine business for nearly 70 years. This is the biggest moment in that 70-year history,” Incat chairman and founder Bob Clifford said.
Incat said the vessel, which will sail under the name China Zorrilla – a Uruguayan actress – was “one of the most significant export achievements in Australian history”.
Once fully fitted, it will feature the largest retail shopping space on any ferry, spanning 2300sq m.
It carries a 40-megawatt energy storage system and will charge via ports on each side of the River Pate.
Mr Clifford said it could charge as quickly as 40 minutes, depending on the availability of electricity.
“It is the future of short-sea shipping. This technology is good for 50-100 miles,” he said.
“It won’t be long before it is 200 miles. The advancement is going to continue.”
Construction of Hull 096 was made possible by a $60 million low-interest commercial loan provided through the Tasmanian Development Board.
It will undergo further fit outs and is expected to be put through sea trials in Hobart’s River Derwent by the end of 2025.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said Tasmania had long been a leader in maritime innovation.
“Incat’s latest achievement is a testament to our state’s world-class shipbuilding capabilities and proud seafaring heritage,” he said.
Mr Clifton said Incat had expansion plans and companies, particularly in Europe, were crying out for electric ships.
There were 10 larger ships “in the works”, he said.
“Within five years I would seriously hope to be building four ships a year. I think that’s only the beginning,” he said.
“We have a head start, we are leading the world with this type of lightweight ship.”