#WAvotes: Labor crashes as Greens take hold

Liberal candidates David Johnson, Michaelia Cash, Linda Reynolds and Slade Brockman address supporters at the South of Perth Yacht Club in Applecross. Source: News Corp Australia

LABOR'S primary vote is on track to crash below 25 per cent in the WA Senate re-run as support for the Greens and the Palmer United Party has surged.

After a train wreck of a campaign by the ALP, the result will spark bitter recriminations in Labor leader Bill Shorten's demoralised caucus.

There are fears that as few as one-in-five WA voters had supported the ALP.

The result is likely to prompt fresh demands for federal intervention into the troubled WA Labor branch.

The fate of Labor Senator Louise Pratt is also hanging in the balance - but there were hopes she could hang on with the support of strong preferences from the Greens.

The Liberals are still hopeful of hanging onto three of the six Senate spots up for grabs.

Vote counting for the WA Senate election re-run starts at the Central Institute of Technology in Mount Lawley PICTURE: JORDAN SHIELDS.

But support is bleeding to Clive Palmer's PUP party.

While it was too early to call the final result, the outcome is likely to deliver a win for two Liberal senators, Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, Labor's Joe Bullock and Clive Palmer's PUP candidate Dio Wang.

Senator Pratt and the Liberal's Linda Reynolds were in the hunt for the final spot.

FULL COVERAGE:

Palmer United Party WA Senate candidates Dio Wang and Des Headland talk to a PUP volunteer at Landsdale Primary School. Picture: THEO FAKOS

■ Defiant Pratt fights odds

■ Ludlam praises campaign effort

■ Palmer's big spend 'worth it'

■ Roll up, roll up to the Senate circus

■ Joe Spagnolo: Party over for voters

Louise Pratt addresses the Labor faithful at the Tattersalls Bowling and Recreation Club.

With the no show vote from fatigued voters forced back to the polls as high as 15 per cent, the low voter turnout favoured the Greens.

The Australian Electoral Commission said that postal votes and pre polls were up on last year.

"It's looking fantastic at this stage,'' Greens leader Christine Milne said about 8pm.

"We're going to take it right up to Tony Abbott."

WA Greens Senator Scott Ludlam said the result was a blow to the major parties.

The WA Senate by-election followed an Australian Electoral Commission bungle in September that saw 1370 votes go missing, throwing the original result into doubt.

At the September poll about 93 per cent of West Australians turned up to vote. It also saw Clive Palmer go missing in action on the day of the ballot.

"From my perspective it's difficult to look past Labor, Liberals, the Greens and Palmer Party as the serious contenders," former Labor minister Stephen Smith said as polls were closing yesterday.

"I think Liberals are at risk of getting two senators rather than three.

"If the Liberals were only to get two senators out of a six Senate race, that would be the first time in a quarter of a century it would have occurred."

Departing for his North Asia trade tour, Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who accused Mr Palmer of trying to buy seats in Parliament, urged voters to send a message on the Senate's blocking the abolition of the mining tax and the carbon tax.

"This election in Western Australia does matter. It is important for your future. It is important for the future of our country,'' Mr Abbott said.

West Australians couldn't escape Mr Palmer in the last month, with the eccentric minerals boss drowning the state in a big-spending advertising barrage.

Media analysts believe the PUP spent 10 times the amount of the major parties on TV advertisements urging voters to "Stick It Up Em'' and describing the Australian Electoral Commission as "mongrels".

But yesterday, Mr Palmer and his two-thumbs-up salute were nowhere to be seen.

PUP's top Senate candidate Dio Wang had no idea where his leader was.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. He might be here. I only met him once this week to be honest," he said.

Mr Palmer's media minder Andrew Crook said his boss was not in WA.

"He's left WA, that's correct," Mr Crook said.

But Mr Palmer himself claimed to be in Albany, 420km from Perth, when he spoke to The Sunday Times on his mobile phone yesterday.

"I'm in Albany. I am giving a speech. How long does it take to drive to Perth?'' he said.

On Friday, Mr Palmer suggested he was in Kalgoorlie.

But while there were photographs of his candidates campaigning in the Goldfields, there were no images released of the businessman.

Advertising monitoring firm Ebiquity estimated PUP had spent $500,000 on TV ads, but Liberal sources suggested it could be up to $6 million overall.

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