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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Lucy Bladen

Nuttall wins fifth seat as Labor stalwart defeated

Only one member for the Legislative Assembly has yet to be determined with the fifth seat in Brindabella being called for the Greens' Laura Nuttall overnight.

Ms Nuttall's election means Labor's Mick Gentleman has been knocked out. It also means the Canberra Liberals have failed to grow their numbers in the Assembly.

Amardeep Singh and Ed Cocks, both Liberals, are battling it out for the fifth seat in Murrumbidgee.

The final make-up of parties in the Legislative Assembly has been determined with 10 Labor members, nine Liberals, four Greens and two independents.

Ms Nuttall had firmed as the favourite over recent days after initially being ruled out on election night.

ABC elections analyst Antony Green called the seat for Ms Nuttall following Thursday night's distribution.

"Greens MLA Laura Nuttall has widened her lead beyond 300 votes and is now certain to win re-election to the final seat in Brindabella," he wrote.

Laura Nuttall on Friday morning after the fifth seat in Brindabella was called in her favour. Picture by Keegan Carroll

Ms Nuttall said it was a privilege to be re-elected. She said after Saturday night, when it appeared she had lost the seat, she had planned to take up a variety of hobbies but these would have to be put on ice.

"It's an immense privilege to be re-elected to serve the people for Brindabella for four more years," she said.

"It's certainly been a long week waiting for the results as they slowly trickled in and there's been a couple of sleepless nights but I'm certainly really excited at the prospect that I might be able to represent the electorate for Brindabella."

Ms Nuttall said she wanted to focus on being an effective local representative over the next term and the challenge the notion that Tuggeranong has been left behind.

"One of my focuses is on being more visible and more available and getting a really consistent schedule together of where you'll be able to find me, how you'll be able to access me," she said.

Laura Nuttall speaking on Friday morning with Shane Rattenbury, Jo Clay and Andrew Braddock. Picture by Keegan Carroll

Ms Nuttall has only been a member since November 2023. She was elected on countback following the resignation of Johnathan Davis over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said it was a great achievement for Ms Nuttall to be re-elected under the circumstances.

"It's an extraordinary achievement to retain the seat just 10 months into the role," he said.

"The Assembly is littered with a history of people who come in on a countback and have not been successful in retaining their seats. Most people don't make it so the fact Laura has made it back really speaks to her efforts."

It is the second time Mr Gentleman has lost his seat. He was first elected to the Assembly in 2004 but was defeated in 2008. He was re-elected to the Assembly in 2012 and has remained until now.

Mr Gentleman held several ministries including business, multicultural affairs, industrial relations, fire and emergency services, and police and crime prevention.

He also held the planning and corrections portfolios until December 2023 when there was a reshuffle.

Labor's Caitlin Tough and Taimus Werner-Gibbings were elected as members for Brindabella.

Mick Gentleman on Labor's election night party when his seat was looking in trouble. Picture by Gary Ramage

Mr Gentleman is the third minister to lose a seat in the 2024 poll with Greens members Rebecca Vassarotti and Emma Davidson also failing to retain their positions.

The Brindabella result is also a blow to the Canberra Liberals who were expected to win three seats in the electorate and received a 4.6 per cent swing towards them.

It will also mean Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee has lost a potential ally in James Daniels, who was the Liberal candidate expected to win.

The Greens will hold a meeting with members over the weekend to determine whether to sit on the crossbench or join cabinet in the next Assembly.

Mr Rattenbury described this meeting as an "advisory process" to hear views from party members about what they wanted from the next term. More than 500 members have been sent a survey to complete.

"The Greens are a consensus-based party... at the end of the day the parliamentarians have to take responsibility for the final decision but we want to make sure that we really test the views," he said.

Mr Rattenbury has been a minister in the ACT government for more than a decade. When asked whether he would want to relinquish this, he said it was not about what he wanted.

"I'm personally relaxed about the role I play. I'm just here to get outcomes for our community as all my colleagues are," he said.

The Greens leader said he had also spoken with newly elected independent members Thomas Emerson and Fiona Carrick about how they could work together.

"I think it's fair to reflect that we all want to have a good working relationship. The Greens do always sit on that role in the crossbench even if we opt to go into the ministry, we still have crossbench members," Mr Rattenbury said.

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