Scott Morrison ditches suit and tie to watch the election results at Kirribilli

Scott Morrison has stripped off his suit after a hard final day of campaigning to watch the votes be counted with his family.

The prime minister was seen in casual dress with a no-collar shirt and a jumper as he embraced family inside Kirribilli House in Sydney.

Polls closed on Australia’s east coast at 6pm, leaving Mr Morrison with nothing left to do but wait to make a concession or victory speech.

Mr Morrison’s relaxation will only last a few hours as he is due to appear, either in victory or defeat, at an election night rally at the Fullerton Hotel in Sydney.

Australians are nervously waiting alongside the PM as with no exit poll this year they have nothing to go on until the results of key seats start to land.

Five seats have already been called by media outlets, three for Labor and two for the Coalition, but these are ultra-safe seats that were never in doubt.

For the ALP are Callwell and Scullin in Victoria and Sydney in NSW, and Groom and Maranoa in Queensland for the Liberal-National Party.

He spent the morning doing a last-minute blitz on TV and radio to convince the last few undecided voters before they headed to the polls.

Mr Morrison then cast his own vote in his seat of Cook, where he thanked the residents in his electorate for showing their support.

‘No one gets to serve in the positions that I’ve had the great privilege… to have in positions as prime minister, or treasurer, or minister, unless you are first supported by your local community,’ he said. 

Mr Morrison held a press conference after casting his vote, where he reflected on his years in office.

‘Well, this election has never been about me or my feelings or anything like that. It’s always been about the Australian people,’ he said. 

‘That’s what our government is all about and will continue to be about because I’ve seen Australians, with Jenny, at their best and in some of the worst of times for them and on every occasion, I have seen the great strength and resilience of Australians.’

Mr Morrison and his family mill around inside Kirribilli House as they celebrate the end of the campaign

Mr Morrison was accompanied by wife Jenny and daughters Lily and Abbey as he slipped his ballot into the box at Lilli Pilli Public School, Sydney’s south, on Saturday

‘And that’s what pulled through – supported by a government that believes in Australians, that’s enabled Australia to be one of the strongest performing economies in the advanced world today.’

Mr Morrison touted Australia’s low death rate during the coronavirus pandemic as one of his biggest achievements that should earn him another term.

‘We have one of the lowest death rates from Covid today and the highest vaccination rates and why we can look to the future with confidence,’ he said.

‘I look forward to supporting people in their aspirations, particularly to own their own home. There are many hours of voting to go. 

‘If you want to own your own home by getting access to your superannuation, there’s only one to do that and that’s voting Liberal National today.’