There is something for everyone in Dunkley’s byelection result.

For the Albanese government: Jodie Belyea has held on to what is traditionally a marginal seat, even after the death of a popular local MP and in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.

For Peter Dutton and the Liberals: a bit of a swing, showing that attack lines about a tax on cars can do real damage, and the suggestion a path back to office through the outer suburbs is more than just a conservative fever dream.

Over on Sky, Peta Credlin said the bullish early results showed “the strategy’s right, the positioning is right”. Of course the strategy is to falsely claim that a fuel efficiency standard which will give Australians choice of more efficient cars amounts to a tax. But, hey, there are votes in it.

When the results soured for the Liberals and it became clear they would fall short, Credlin’s prescription was that the opposition needed “more of the same” to go one better next time.

On Thursday, Dutton said that a swing of 3% or more would be disastrous for the government, an overstatement that indicated that’s what he expected to receive.

The swing that materialised was about that, maybe a little more, not a disaster for either Dutton or Anthony Albanese. More like par. It was a typical swing against the government in a........

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