The Labor Party has held the seat of Batman since 1969.
Former trade union official Ged Kearney is the latest Labor member to represent the seat.
But despite her party's long history in the electorate, Ms Kearney making it to federal parliament on this occasion is something of a surprise.
It had been thought the Greens would win the by-election in Batman, running their perennial candidate in the seat, Alex Bhathal.
But plenty went wrong for Ms Bhathal as she tried to become the Greens' second lower-house member of the current parliament.
And much of it came from her own party. Leaked against her, seemingly by Greens party members, were allegations of bullying?
Ms Bhathal denies those allegations.
And Greens leader Richard Di Natale has told the A-B-C those who leaked them will have to pay the ultimate price.
"There'll be now an investigation. The party's announced that it will do that. Those people who are found to be responsible for leaking and undermining our candidate need to be expelled. I don't think there's any other alternative there and we need to ensure that that's what happens."
However Ms Bhathal - and her internal enemies - aren't the only Greens in trouble as a result of the Batman by-election.
Senator Di Natale has been forced to fend off questions over whether he will resign the party's leadership over the failure to win the poll.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has told Sky News Senator Di Natale isn't facing a leadership challenge, but also says he does need take responsibility to help his parliamentary colleagues ahead of the next federal election.
"Richard Di Natale's leadership is safe, and we need him now. We need him to step up, and to make sure that the party is pulled together tightly and that we're refocused on making sure we have a good ground game (basic plan) and a good policy front for the next election. Many of us here in Canberra are up for re-election come whenever it (the next federal election) is - as early as August, possibly this time next year. We need Richard fighting for us and leading us strongly."
But why did the people of Batman vote for Labor over the Greens?
The Greens tried to make their opposition to the proposed Adani Carmichale coal mine in Queensland a big issue in the electorate.
However, seemingly from nowhere, the issue of funding for Catholic schools loomed as a big factor in the vote.
The Australian newspaper reports Opposition Leader Bill Shorten made a phone call on Saturday night to Catholic Education Melbourne chief executive Stephen Elder, to thank him for his help in winning Batman for Labor.
Mr Elder's organisation made automated phone calls to almost every household in the electorate in the days leading up to the poll, urging people to vote for Labor.
They also wrote to parents during the campaign.
Catholic Education Melbourne is currently in a dispute with the federal coalition government over school funding changes.
The organisation thinks the changes are robbing millions of dollars of funding from Catholic schools.
They sent a letter to parents of Catholic school students, who represent more than a quarter of school students in the seat of Batman, telling them that Labor, under the leadership of Mr Shorten, is the only party that can guarantee an extra 250 million dollars of funding to Catholic schools over two years.
It didn't cost the government a seat in parliament in Batman - the Liberal Party didn't run a candidate in this by-election - but it could at the next federal election, where Catholic Education Melbourne has threatened to again make it an issue.
It's drawn the ire of federal Education minister, Simon Birmingham.
He's told Sky News Mr Shorten is unprincipled.
"So, Bill Shorten has walked away from any commitment to needs-based school funding. And for him, school funding is now all about how many votes can he buy, it seems. Well, that, of course, is a complete abandonment of any sense of principle by Bill Shorten. It's all just about stitching up deals, it seems."
But voices against the government's present school funding policy aren't just limited to advocacy groups and the Labor Party.
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott is not afraid to outwardly display his Catholic faith, or criticise the policies put in place under his successor in the nation's top job, Malcolm Turnbull.
Mr Abbott's told Sydney radio station 2-G-B that Mr Birmingham ought to revise current funding policy to make it more favourable to Catholic schools.
"It's not rich people who send their kids to the local Catholic school. It's people who are aspirational. They're often making enormous sacrifices to do it. And why should their schools suffer a big loss in funding? So, if the Education Minister were to go back and reconsider elements of that policy, I think that would be very good for the government."
Indian Australian resident of Batman and local Labor leader Aloke Kumar say it was win of united Labor party against divided and may be fragmented Greens.
