Indi will be orange for another three years.
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It took a couple of hours for the election result to sink in for winner Cathy McGowan, but then there was no wiping the smile off her face.
The final polling numbers showed an increased first preference count and 3.28 per cent two-party preferred swing towards the independent from the nail-biting 2013 election.
“I’m so surprised - I thought we’d be waiting for Monday or Tuesday so it’s a relief that it’s come through,” she told The Border Mail after claiming victory on Saturday night.
“I just have to admire the wisdom of the people of Indi because clearly there was a lot of negativity in the last two weeks … people had a choice and I think they rose to that challenge and said ‘we do trust you Cathy’.”
The eight-week campaign culminated in a big party at Wangaratta on Saturday night, full of celebrations, drinks and emotion from the orange army.
But Ms McGowan also used her victory speech to send a message to her doubters, claiming her second win in two elections was more than a “fluke”.
“I point out, to those that need to listen, that there was no wool pulled over our eyes,” she said.
The message was reiterated to media later.
“A lot of people thought when we won in 2013 it but just an accident, but clearly, winning twice now, it’s what the community wants,” Ms McGowan said.
The independent’s speech was likely to be the only in Australia to thank the craft makers of the campaign, who bought all the available orange wool and material across Indi.
“We did something that hasn’t happened before - we made Indi into a tribe, a tribe of orange,” Ms McGowan said.
“It didn’t just happen, over 2184 individual people in the community gave money, over 1000 core flutes were distributed across the electorate, over 800 new T-shirts, over 2000 badges, over 600 people signed pledges, 65 polling places all staffed by over 600 people.”
She was happy to call herself the “queen of nice”.
“People want positive politics and we have shown that if you keep to your values and you keep positive then people will respond,” she said.
“We are in fact a movement, a movement for social and political change that I hope brings great courage, not only to us, but right around Australia.”
The result brought to an end what was often a tumultuous rivalry with Liberal Sophie Mirabella.
“I’d like to acknowledge Sophie’s persistence and her tenacity - she’s been an amazing campaigner and she’s really worked hard to make the seat competitive, so I think we’ve benefitted from that,” Ms McGowan told The Border Mail.
“I wish her well for the future.”
As the overall election result remained in the balance, she reiterated her stance to do “no deals” in the event of a hung parliament.
The Indi result grew in certainty throughout Saturday night as results from smaller booths continued to fall in favour of the independent.
But Ms McGowan said she only really let herself believe she had reclaimed the seat when she won the last of the big booths in Wangaratta and Wodonga about five minutes before her victory speech.
“I’m feeling humbled, relieved, pleased and really excited about the future,” she said.
