With 20 per cent of votes still to be counted, sitting member Alby Schultz has been returned with a massively increased margin for his fifth successive term.
The 71 year old candidate, who criss-crossed the Hume electorate in an energized campaign, almost doubled his two party preferred margin to around 19 per cent.
Mr Schultz praised the sacrifices made by his hard-working team, including several members who have seen him through all of his campaigns.
Despite the size of the loss, Labor officials praised Robin Saville for his efforts in his first campaign which they said drew sizeable swings to Labor in several booths.
The progress figures at 10.30pm were:
Alby Schultz (Liberal) – 39,909
Robin Saville (Labor) – 24,320
Kevin Watchirs (Greens) – 5,375
Charles Liptak (Family First) – 1,675
Karen Buttigieg (CDP) – 1,317
Greg Butler (Democrats) – 1,048
Lisa Milat (LDP) – 874
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