The Greens have defied a national swing to the right by hanging onto the seat of Melbourne, leader Christine Milne says.
Senator Milne says the party has shown up the likes of former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett with Adam Bandt's win.
"It will defy all of those pundits who said the Greens just couldn't do this," Senator Milne told a gathering at Greens election HQ in Hobart.
"Jeff Kennett said that (Bandt) should be preferenced out of existence.
"The people of Melbourne have come out today and defied all of that and returned him."
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The party's vote overall slumped to around 8.5 per cent, down from its high of 11.8 in 2010.
Counting in the Greens' stronghold of the Senate was far from complete but Tasmanian Peter Whish-Wilson was likely to be returned, while South Australian Sarah Hanson-Young and West Australian Scott Ludlam were in tough battles.
The party was, however, in with a chance of picking up a Senate seat in Victoria.
Senator Milne said Greens senators could work with incoming prime minister Tony Abbott, but that didn't mean she wasn't scathing about his election.
"I just cannot understand how people have found it so easy to believe Tony Abbott when he hasn't come out with properly costed policies," she told AAP.
"After the election I think Australia's going to be in for a shock."
The Greens leader said she feared public service job cuts, political interference in people's lives and workplace relations changes.
She has said the party will oppose attempts to repeal the carbon tax.
Senator Milne said the public had thrown Labor out for breaking its promises.
"Essentially the community seems to be now punishing the Labor party for having said one thing before an election and doing another after the election," she said.
"That's going to be the risk for Tony Abbott"
