The Nationals member dominated in the results, notching up a big win despite a 1.46 per cent swing against him in the two-party preferred stakes.

As of Monday afternoon, Dr Gillespie won 54,099 two-party preferred votes (62.06 per cent), beating his Labor rival Peter Alley, who attracted 33,074 votes (37.94 per cent).

Lyne, a Mid North Coast based seat, moved into part of the Hunter, including Dungog, Lorn, Largs and several other towns, after a federal boundary redistribution before the election.

While the new boundaries look to have significantly affected neighbouring Paterson, where voters recorded a huge swing towards Labor, the new-look Lyne appears to have largely retained its conservative voter base.

Meanwhile, after the longest federal election campaign since the 1950s, Australian voters are unlikely to know who the next Prime Minister or governing party will be for at least the next few days.

At the time the Chronicle went to print, there were still several seats hanging in the balance and the possibility of a hung Parliament loomed large.

Vote counting for the Lower House was expected to resume on Tuesday, after no progress was made on the tally on Sunday or Monday.

Aside from Lyne, the Hunter Region has furthered its reputation as a Labor stronghold.

Incumbent Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon was returned with a margin of about 25 per cent in the two-party preferred vote against Nationals candidate Ruth Rogers.

Labor MP Sharon Claydon cleaned up in Newcastle, with a 63 per cent to 37 per cent win over Liberal David Compton in the two-party count.

The battle for Shortland was a similar story, as Labor’s Pat Conroy claimed almost 75 per cent of the votes.

In Paterson, the Liberal Party’s last remaining Hunter Region seat at a state or federal level, went convincingly to Labor candidate – Hunter radio personality and former Joel Fitzgibbon staffer – Meryl Swanson.

Given there are several seats on a knife’s edge that may need recounts, the political situation is likely to remain fluid for some time.