At the end of the night Labor is creeping towards the 90-seat mark.

Christopher Pyne, who served alongside Dutton in the cabinet, said the damage to the Liberal party will be felt for years.

“One of my concerns is that because the Coalition has gone backwards we could well be two elections away from being seriously competitive,” he said.

Nine chief political editor Charles Croucher was more damning.

“This is a huge loss,” he said. “It should be a huge lesson to the Liberal Party. You cannot continue in the same direction.

“A new leader needs a new direction because the country needs a good opposition.”

“It’s a remarkable win,” said Croucher.

“A majority is a good thing. Let’s hope that the difficulties everyone’s been through in Australia these last five years are now over, and we can all move to a happier place together.”