Talks fail to end Cambodia stalemate

Cambodian PM Hun Sen and head of main opposition have met face-to-face for the first time in years. Source: AAP

CAMBODIA'S king has brought Prime Minister Hun Sen face to face with the head of the opposition for the first time in years, urging the political rivals to find a peaceful solution to their post-election stalemate for the sake of national stability.

No agreement was reached at the brief meeting on Saturday at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, but Hun Sen is expected to meet opposition leader Sam Rainsy again Monday for further talks, opposition officials said.

Sam Rainsy's party says it would have won had the July vote been fair and has vowed to stage a new wave of protests on Sunday unless an independent committee investigates its claims of widespread voting irregularities.

The government has rejected the demands, and there are fears the protests could trigger violence.

As the two looked on, King Norodom Sihamoni read a statement saying he was "begging the leaders of the two parties to cooperate" to overcome their political differences in the interest of "maintaining peace and stability" in Cambodia.

Sihamoni urged all elected MPs to attend the opening session of parliament, which he will preside over on September 23.

The opposition has vowed to boycott the legislative session unless the dispute is resolved.

Saturday's talks lasted about 20 minutes, and Hun Sen left without commenting. Asked by reporters what had come out of the meeting, Sam Rainsy replied simply: "No, no, there is nothing."

Sam Rainsy's party made major gains in the July vote, although the ruling party retained a majority of legislative seats.

Official results ratified last weekend gave Hun Sen's party 68 seats in the National Assembly and Sam Rainsy's 55.

As the post-election standoff has dragged on, hopes had risen that Sihamoni could serve as a mediator, a role often played by his father.

The late Norodom Sihanouk helped broker an end to civil war in 1991 and arrange power-sharing agreements after the 1993 and 2003 elections.

Sihamoni, who took over the throne in 2004, has so far taken a less active role.

The meeting comes a day before the opposition has planned another mass protest in Phnom Penh.

Opposition leaders have said they expect 20,000 people to turn out again to demand an investigation into the election results.

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Liberal lead narrows in McEwen

The margin is tightening in the nation's closest election race in the Victorian seat of McEwen. Source: AAP

THE margin is tightening in the nation's closest election race in the Victorian seat of McEwen.

Liberal challenger Donna Petrovich narrowly leads Labor incumbent Rob Mitchell, with just 142 votes separating them at lunchtime Saturday.

This has narrowed from Friday, with almost 85 per cent per cent of the vote counted.

In Victoria's other close contest, between Liberal Sophie Mirabella and independent Cathy McGowan in Indi, the latter's lead is widening.

On Saturday, Ms McGowan led by 805 votes with more than 88 per cent of the ballots tallied.

Mrs Mirabella this week ruled herself out of a cabinet post in the Tony Abbott government, saying her decision allowed the new prime minister to choose his ministry without waiting for the result in her seat.

Counting continues Saturday and Sunday.

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Police end Mexico City plaza occupation

Police have raided Mexico City's historic centre to remove striking teachers from Zocalo plaza. Source: AAP

RIOT police have swept thousands of striking teachers out of the heart of Mexico City.

The authorities used tear gas, flash grenades and water cannon against protesters to bring a swift end to weeks of occupation of the Zocalo plaza over reforms to the country's dysfunctional education system.

Three days before Mexican Independence Day, the teachers armed themselves with metal pipes and wooden clubs and blocked off the Zocalo with steel grates and plastic traffic dividers, threatening to scuttle the traditional national celebration in the massive colonial-era square.

Before moving in, the government had promised that Independence Day celebrations would take place in the Zocalo as scheduled, and the head of the federal police warned on national television that police would move in at 4pm local time.

The teachers, many veterans of battles with police in poor southern states, promised not to move from the square where they have camped out since last month.

Some fixed knives and nails to wooden planks and declared themselves ready to fight.

Others set up sewage-filled portable toilets in the path of police vehicles.

Shortly after 4pm, the police swarmed in, shooting tear gas from specially equipped fire extinguishers, tossing flash grenades and spraying water from armoured trucks.

Protesters hurled sticks and chunks of pavement broken from the streets around world-famous tourist attractions including the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Templo Mayor and the National Palace.

But within a half hour, police had cleared the Zocalo and much of the surrounding historic centre of virtually all protesters.

Union organisers said they would reassemble away from the main plaza at the nearby Monument to the Revolution.

Small knots of teachers, self-described local anarchists and other supporters hurled bottles and rocks at police on some of the main avenues of downtown Mexico City.

It was a dramatic reassertion of state authority after weeks of near-constant disruption in the centre of one of the world's largest cities.

The teachers have marched through the capital at least 15 times over the last two months, decrying a plan that aims to break union control of education with a new system of standardised teacher testing that become law on Tuesday.

The teachers say blocking the reform itself is no longer the point.

They say they are now trying to maintain pressure to protect their rights and privileges as the government puts the labour reforms into effect and reduces union control over teacher hiring and assignment.

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Singer Joan Regan dies aged 85

BRITISH singer Joan Regan has died in London aged 85, the BBC reports.

Regan had chart hits in the late 50s and early 60s with records including Ricochet, May You Always and If I Give My Heart To You and also had her own BBC TV series Be My Guest.

Born in Romford, Essex, she was signed up by theatre impresario Bernard Delfont and went on to star on both sides of the Atlantic with artists including Perry Como, Max Bygraves and Cliff Richard and performed on many occasions at the London Palladium.

An accident in the shower in 1984 caused a blood clot on the brain and left her paralysed and without speech, but through therapy she made a complete recovery and was able to sing again.

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Clive shoots down AEC over military links

Clive Palmer claims at least 10 ex-military officers are working for the electoral commission. Source: AAP

CLIVE Palmer says ex-military officers are working for the electoral commission and may be part of a conspiracy to deny him victory in the seat of Fairfax.

Mr Palmer says at least 10 former military members have central positions in the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

"It's a bad thing because those people have links to the military and they have a network and camaraderie within the AEC because they have a common background," he told AAP.

"I think they may give orders to people in the system.

"The AEC should employ people who are independent."

The billionaire candidate wants the AEC to give him the names of people who signed ballots in Fairfax and specimens of their initials.

He said many ballot papers hadn't been initialled and suggested the ballot boxes had been tampered with.

"Now I'm not saying all electoral officers are crooks but if there is nothing to hide, then why won't they give us the names of people who initialled them?" he said.

Mr Palmer made the comments as counting showed his LNP opponent Ted O'Brien was eating away at his lead in the Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax.

He is in front by 1132 votes, down from 1440 on Wednesday night.

On Tuesday, Mr Palmer predicted he would lose Fairfax because of unfair electoral processes, including voting irregularities and ballot security.

He has threatened to have the Palmer United Party's two Senate bound candidates block legislation unless electoral reform is promised.

AEC spokeswoman Anne Bright said she was unable to comment on any specific allegations.

Any petition lodged needed to be evidence-based, she said.

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Sydney blazes burn into the night

A bushfire continues to burn out of control in Sydney's Blue Mountains as the NSW fire threat eases. Source: AAP

WARNINGS for two bushfires west and north of Sydney have been downgraded as firefighters work to contain the blazes.

A major fire at Winmalee, in the lower Blue Mountains, has burned through more than 1,050 hectares of bushland and was still being controlled on Thursday evening.

But the blaze is not threatening any homes and a "watch and act" warning issued by the Rural Fire Service (RFS) amid strong winds and dry conditions has been scaled back to an "advice".

"By today or tomorrow at the latest we would like to have it contained," an RFS spokesman told AAP earlier on Thursday.

Meanwhile a scrub fire that leapt the M1 motorway on the central coast has plunged commuters into traffic chaos.

The motorway - formerly known as the F3 - has reopened in both directions at Wyee, and the Transport Management Centre said eight-kilometre queues and heavy delays had subsided.

RFS deputy commissioner Rob Rogers said a fire had jumped the motorway and backburning may be to blame.

"A fire has crossed from the eastern side of Mandalong Rd onto the median strip, then over to the west-hand side," he told Macquarie Network.

"There was a hazard reduction operation in the area, that's certainly - potentially - the cause of it."

He said careful planning always went into the planned burning operations that take place across the 20 million hectares of bushfire-prone land in NSW.

"We don't do these in a cavalier way," he said.

"But when you're doing things like that, occasionally things will go wrong.

The RFS and NSW Police have launched investigations into the cause and origin of the bushfires.

Some Winmalee residents have raised concerns that recent hazard reduction burns in the area by National Parks may have got out of control on Tuesday.

They'll meet with authorities, including police and firefighters, at a community forum on Thursday night.

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LNP on track to win Capricornia

THE LNP is on track to win the seat of Capricornia, with candidate Michelle Landry now leading the count by 624 votes.

Postal votes have been flowing Ms Landry's way, putting her in prime position to snatch the seat from the ALP.

The contest has been a cliffhanger - yesterday just 14 votes separated Ms Landry and ALP candidate Peter Freeleagus.

"It is good - the postal votes have really taken us up in the count," Ms Landry said.

She was due to travel to Canberra on Thursday night, with the LNP booking her a flight to the capital as it became increasingly confident she would win the seat.

Retiring Labor MP Kirsten Livermore had held Capricornia since 1998.

Meanwhile, Clive Palmer still leads the count in the seat of Fairfax. The mining magnate is 1132 votes ahead of the LNP's Ted O'Brien.

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China bans new coal-fired plants

CHINA says it will ban new coal-fired power plants in three key industrial regions around Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in its latest bid to combat the country's notorious air pollution.

The action plan from the State Council announced on Thursday also aims to cut the country's percentage of total primary energy use stemming from coal to below 65 per cent by 2017. The US government estimates that China currently gets about 70 per cent of its energy from coal.

The government has come under increasing pressure from a growing middle class to clean up the country's air pollution, much of which comes from the burning of coal.

Environmental group Greenpeace welcomed the plan, saying it would significantly slow growth in coal consumption and set an important precedent that other major economies should follow.

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Palmer claims he delivered Abbott's win

Former rugby league star Glenn Lazarus says the Palmer United Party is like the Melbourne Storm. Source: AAP

MINING magnate Clive Palmer says life as a federal MP might bring him happiness, love and "a smile on the face of a child".

The colourful businessman says he's not only confident of winning the Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax himself, he's also sure his Palmer United Party (PUP) will claim another lower house seat and two Senate seats.

"We'll definitely have two senators and the balance of power in Australia," he told ABC television on Monday.

He claims prime minister-elect Tony Abbott wouldn't have been able to form government if it hadn't been for preferences from the Palmer United Party.

"If we'd given them to the Labor Party, he couldn't have (won)," Mr Palmer said. "It's quite a significant result for our party."

He was asked what he expects from life as an MP.

"Happiness, love, friendship ... a smile on the face of a child," Mr Palmer replied.

He wants the mining tax to be repealed, which he says has "killed" Australia's mining industry.

He's also calling for the carbon tax to be scrapped and for the money raised from it to be refunded.

Star PUP candidate Glenn Lazarus, who looks set to win a Senate seat, likened his party's election result to his playing days at rugby league team the Melbourne Storm.

"People were not giving us any hope whatsoever, which reminds me of the Melbourne Storm when we started," he told ABC radio.

"No one gave us much chance either, but of course within two years we won a grand final."

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Newman shakes up Qld's department heads

QUEENSLAND Premier Campbell Newman has announced a big shake-up of the state's department heads.

Mr Newman released a list of director-general changes on Monday as part of his plan to improve the public service.

Public Service Commissioner Ian Maynard will become the director-general of Queensland Health following the departure of Tony O'Connell.

Environment DG Andrew Chesterman has been shifted to fill Mr Maynard's previous job.

Energy and Water Supply DG Jon Black will now head the environment department while Natural Resources and Mines DG Dan Hunt will take on Mr Black's old role.

Dr Brett Heyward has been promoted from being on a health taskforce to becoming the Natural Resources and Mines DG.

Sue Rickerby has also been promoted from the Department of Premier and Cabinet to head the Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts department.

Former senior environment bureaucrat James Purtill, who left the public service in 2008, has returned to head the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs and Multicultural Affairs department.

Mr Newman said he's determined to make Queensland's public service the best in the country.

"These appointments will provide the leadership and expertise needed to achieve that goal," he said.

"They are all talented, highly qualified and committed to delivering the first-class public services Queenslanders deserve."

Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was also time for Mr Newman to shake up his ministry.

"There's a number of ministers who are underperforming and if you're doing such a massive shake-up of your bureaucracy, there's definitely going to be something happening in relation to ministers," she said.

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Coalition ahead in 86 seats: AEC

BILLIONAIRE Clive Palmer is on track to enter federal parliament.

The latest round of vote counting shows the Liberal-National coalition ahead in 87 seats.

Labor is ahead in 57 seats, with the Greens' Adam Bandt holding Melbourne, Bob Katter retaining his seat of Kennedy, and independent Andrew Wilkie returning in Denison.

The Australian Electoral Commission on Monday afternoon posted two-candidate preferred counts on its website for the seats of Fisher, Fairfax, Indi and Mallee.

It shows Mr Palmer is ahead of his Liberal National Party rival Ted O'Brien by 1920 votes in the Queensland seat of Fairfax.

Liberal frontbencher Sophie Mirabella trails independent Cathy McGowan in the Victorian seat of Indi by 1754 votes.

Former Howard government minister Mal Brough is 1521 votes ahead of Palmer United Party's Bill Schoch in Fisher.

The Nationals' Andrew Broad looks set to take the Victorian seat of Mallee, leading his Liberal rival Chris Crewther by 785 votes.

Among the seats listed as "close" is the NSW seat of Barton, with Labor candidate Steve McMahon 79 votes ahead of the Liberals' Nic Varvaris.

In Eden-Monaro, former Labor minister Mike Kelly is 616 votes behind Liberal candidate Peter Hendy.

Labor MP John Murphy is trailing Liberal challenger Craig Laundy by 652 votes in the NSW seat of Reid.

In Victoria, Labor MP Rob Mitchell is 72 votes ahead of the Liberals' Donna Petrovich in McEwen.

Labor candidate Peter Freeleagus is 141 votes ahead of the Liberal National Party's Michelle Landry in the Queensland seat of Capricornia.

The seat of Petrie was moved out of the "close" category on Monday afternoon. Former parliamentary secretary Yvette D'Ath is 809 votes behind the LNP's Luke Howarth in the Brisbane-based seat.

The Liberals will pick up a Senate seat in the ACT.

Liberal candidate Zed Seselja achieved just over 33 per cent of the vote in counting on Monday afternoon, pushing him ahead of the Greens' Simon Sheikh.

Labor's Kate Lundy has already retained her seat.

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Finance data show housing market improving

The number of home loans approved rose for the seventh month in a row, official figures show. Source: AAP

HOME loans approvals have risen for the seventh month in a row, and the housing sector is expected to strengthen further in the coming months.

The number of home loans approved in July rose 2.4 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said, which was better than the market forecast of a 2.0 per cent rise.

CommSec chief economist Craig James said he expects the housing market to make more gains as consumer and business confidence improves now that the federal election is out of the way.

"What we would hope that, in a more settled environment, people will start spending, investing and hiring," he said.

"Of all the sectors in the economy, clearly one of the healthiest is housing.

"Housing is best placed to take over the leadership role from mining as the nation's key economic driver.

Loans made for the purchase of new dwellings rose 5.9 per cent in the month but loans for the construction of dwellings fell 2.1 per cent.

"While construction loans fell, it was only the first fall recorded in eight months," Mr James said.

"Low interest rates and the skewing of state government grants to new building should continue to support the outlook for building material stocks and developers.

"Certainly we should have construction rising at a faster rate than established dwellings, so we don't get caught with unsustainable growth."

Mr James said the data and continued signs of strength in the housing sector will ensure that the Reserve Bank will hold off on another interest rate cut until 2014.

Total housing finance by value rose 1.1 per cent in July, seasonally adjusted, to $24.180 billion.

JP Morgan economist Ben Jarman said that although the figures came in stronger than expected, the rise was being driven by investors rather than first-home buyers, who typically take out bigger loans.

"Average loan sizes are falling," Mr Jarman said.

"At the same time, what you're getting is activity that is tilted more towards the investor and less toward the first-home buyer, so you're not getting that uplift in overall credit growth that you get when first-home buyers come into the market.

"It seems like there's a lot of turnover happening in housing but not enough homes being built and not enough credit growth to make it genuinely stimulatory.

"Without that piece of the puzzle moving we don't think this will really change the path of the real economy."

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Labor fears of Qld wipe-out averted

Clive Palmer, who's on track to win a seat in Queensland, says he can win over the nation. Source: AAP

LABOR fears of a near electoral wipe-out in Queensland have been averted, with defeated prime minister Kevin Rudd's team likely to hold at least three-quarters of its seats.

Two Labor-held electorates are still in doubt, however, as counting continues in the northern Brisbane seat of Petrie and the Rockhampton-based electorate of Capricornia.

In Petrie, outgoing parliamentary secretary Yvette D'Ath trails her Liberal National Party rival Luke Howarth by 600 votes.

The 2.97 per cent swing against her was less than the national average of 3.5 per cent against Labor but much greater than the state-wide swing of 0.86 per cent.

Mr Howarth was confident preferences from mining magnate Clive Palmer's Palmer United Party would help him wrest back the seat for the coalition, after six years in Labor hands.

"I hope so," the small business owner told AAP.

"It's too early to call. I always knew it would be close. I never believed it would be an easy win."

The return of Mr Rudd, a Queenslander, to the Labor leadership in June, following the ousting of Julia Gillard, also may have helped Labor's chances.

Michelle Landry, the Liberal National candidate in Capricornia, certainly thinks so as she trails Labor's Peter Freeleagus by 140 votes, after achieving a 3.58 per cent swing against the ALP.

"If Gillard had stayed in there, it would have been a total whitewash," she said.

"With Kevin, they did have a resurgence. That had turned around in the last couple of weeks."

Outgoing Labor MP Kirsten Livermore had held the seat since 1998.

Mr Rudd's Labor nemesis Wayne Swan, a former treasurer, was returned in his seat of Lilley.

Backbencher Graham Perrett, who had held Labor's most marginal seat in Queensland, achieved a swing towards him in Moreton.

Mr Swan's former chief of staff Jim Chalmers easily won the southern Brisbane seat of Rankin, following the retirement of former trade minister Craig Emerson.

In neighbouring Forde defeated star Labor candidate Peter Beattie, a former Queensland premier, was happy to hail Mr Chalmers.

"Jim Chalmers in Rankin is one of our future leaders," Mr Beattie said.

"He's someone with enormous ability, a fantastic individual."

Eccentric entrepreneur Clive Palmer stands a strong chance of winning the Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax on preferences, which would make him Australia's richest federal MP.

Labor went into the election holding eight out of Queensland's 30 seats but early exit polls had predicted the PM almost losing his own electorate of Griffith, as Labor lost six seats in the Sunshine State.

In the Senate, former rugby league premiership winner Glenn Lazarus is likely to have claimed a seat for the Palmer United Party.

Nationally, Labor's primary vote of 33 per cent was possibly the worst in a century but the party was spared the humiliation of 1975 and 1996, when it won just one and two seats in Queensland.

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Libs could take fourth Vic seat from ALP

THE Liberal Party's better-than-expected showing in Victoria could get better yet, with just 73 votes separating candidates in the Labor-held seat of McEwen.

The Liberals also look set to win previously marginal seats of Corangamite, Deakin and La Trobe as Victorians rejected Labor with a 7.5 per cent swing against the ALP in Saturday's election.

But it will be days before the results are known in McEwen and in Indi, where an independent is slightly behind sitting Liberal member Sophie Mirabella.

In McEwen, Labor member Rob Mitchell leads Liberal challenger Donna Petrovich with nearly 73 per cent of the vote counted but counting of pre-poll and postal votes in the seats will begin Monday and it is likely that a recount will be called in both seats.

Labor should hold on to the seats of Bruce and Bendigo with a reduced margin but it suffered a blow with its failure to win back its once-prized seat of Melbourne from the Greens.

Labor's losses in the state add to a mountain of disappearing Victorian talent including former prime minister Julia Gillard, former party leader Simon Crean and former ministers Nicola Roxon and Martin Ferguson.

In Corangamite, the Liberal candidate Sarah Henderson still isn't prepared to claim victory despite leading incumbent Darren Cheeseman 53 to 46 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, with 75 per cent of the vote counted.

But she admits victory is near.

"We just want to take it one step at a time but certainly it's looking very positive that we will have a solid victory in Corangamite," she told AAP on Sunday.

In the state's other two former marginal seats, Deakin and La Trobe, the Victorian government believes support for the East West Link road project was behind the swing to the Liberals.

"Those swings reflect very directly the support for East West Link of both the coalition federally and the coalition at a state level," State Health Minister David Davis told reporters on Sunday.

But Greens MP Adam Bandt said his win in Melbourne is a rejection of the same project.

"We campaigned very strongly in this election against Tony Abbott's mean-spirited proposal to take $1.5 billion from some of the world's poorest people to drive a polluting tollway through the middle of Melbourne," he said.

In the Senate, the Greens will gain the fifth Victorian spot, while Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party candidate Ricky Muir could claim the sixth spot in one of the poll's biggest surprises.

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Senate chance needed Palmer's money

A Tasmanian mother and former military police officer, could be a Palmer United Party senator. Source: AAP

PALMER United Party (PUP) Senate chance Jacqui Lambie admits she turned to the mining billionaire because she was running out of money.

The Tasmanian mother of two and political novice is in strong contention to pick up the state's sixth Senate seat as counting continues.

Ms Lambie would join former rugby league international Glenn Lazarus in the upper house following the PUP's stunning election debut.

The Burnie-based 42-year-old spent 11 years in the military before becoming a campaigner for injured veterans.

She had been due to serve with the military police in East Timor but hurt her back 48 hours before she was due to leave.

Ms Lambie began her Senate campaign as an independent before sending her veterans' policy to party founder Clive Palmer.

"To be honest I was running out of money," she told AAP.

"I don't lie about that with people.

"I just didn't have the money like the big players did for advertising.

"I said I'm not getting this far and having it all thrown out because I'm too pig-headed to take somebody else's funding."

The veterans' policy calls for more staff and training and better liaison with clients.

"I'm disgusted in what's going on under veterans affairs," she said.

"I also believe this - senators are lazy and they are not doing their job and that's why a large amount of legislation being put through is not right."

In the past 24 hours Ms Lambie has gone from obscure hopeful to micro-party champion.

And she isn't daunted about the prospect of negotiating with new prime minister Tony Abbott.

"It just depends on the deal that's on the table on the day," she said.

"If I don't agree with them, if I don't believe they're going to suit Tasmania, I won't be signing off on anything."

Ms Lambie says too much of Tasmania is locked up and out of reach of miners and the forestry industry.

She is fiercely anti-Greens and would use her PUP conscience vote on same-sex marriage to oppose reform.

Senate counting is not expected to be finalised until almost two weeks after polling day and Ms Lambie, who now holds around half a quota, is not counting her chickens.

"Mate, I'll feel much better once we've signed on the dotted line," she said.

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Senate race raising eyebrows

AUSTRALIAN voters look set to deliver a jumbled Senate where the balance of power is held by minor party players including a former footballer, prompting senior parliamentarians to call for a review of the election process.

A complex system of preferencing will likely deny the coalition a 39-seat majority in the upper house, while granting a Senate ticket to newcomers like former rugby league player Glenn Lazarus in Queensland for the Palmer United Party.

Incoming prime minister Tony Abbott will be forced to negotiate with balance-of-power senators to pass legislation including his promises to scrap the carbon tax and mining tax.

"If the collection of senators are elected that we suspect will be elected, I think that will be a group of people that Tony Abbott will be able to, regrettably, progress some of his policies and reforms through the Senate," re-elected Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie told reporters on Sunday.

On current projections, the coalition is expected to get three senators in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, two in South Australia and Tasmania and one each in the ACT and NT, leaving it with an unchanged national total of 34.

Labor is set to hold two seats in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia, with one each in the ACT, NT and South Australia, giving it a total of 26, down five from its current standing.

NT Labor senator-elect Nova Peris will be the first indigenous woman in parliament.

The Palmer United Party could pick up a second seat, with Jacqui Lambie in Tasmania.

Independent Nick Xenophon will be returned in South Australia where Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young's place remains in doubt.

Senator Xenophon described as "bizarre" the process of micro-party preferencing and said there needs to be greater transparency in the process.

Still in the mix across the nation are candidates from the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party and the Australian Sports Party.

In NSW, One Nation founder Pauline Hanson is jostling for a place with Liberal Democrats lead candidate David Leyonhjelm.

The Liberal Democrats were positioned first on the lengthy Senate ballot paper and commentators suspect some voters mistook the party name for "Liberal".

Despite little campaigning, the party picked up close to nine per cent of the NSW Senate vote.

"That is a matter that brings the democratic process into disrepute," Liberal Senator Eric Abetz told reporters in Hobart.

"When people see that they are being gamed, they are being tricked, people will lose confidence in the democratic system and ultimately that will need to be looked at."

Until the Senate changeover in July, the Greens will continue to hold the balance of power, making it impossible for the Abbott government to pass legislation such as the carbon tax repeal and toughening up asylum seeker policies unless Labor offers its support.

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