Perennial Greens candidate Alex Bhathal has failed to snatch the federal Melbourne seat of Batman for a sixth time running.
She conceded defeat to new Labor MP Ged Kearney hours after polls closed in the inner-north by-election on Saturday night, following a swing to the incumbents of more than one per cent.
"Obviously, it's not the result that any of us would have wanted," Ms Bhathal told the party faithful gathered at a Preston bar.
"We knew that Labor would throw everything they had at this seat to hold it after 84 years.
"Many people have said over the course of the campaign that regardless of the outcome, we'll have a strong, progressive woman representing us in this seat," she added in a congratulatory nod to Ms Kearney.
Ms Bhathal has run for Batman since 2001, and the Greens had been convinced victory was imminent following the resignation of Labor's Feeney over his duel-citizenship earlier this year.
"It looks like because of the preference from all the hard-right parties, from Cory Bernardi, from Rise Up Australia, that we're just going to fall short tonight," federal Greens leader Richard Di Natale said.
The party staked much of their campaign on opposition to the Adani coal mine in Queensland and tried to trip Labor up over their mixed messages on the project, which Ms Kearney opposes.
But Ms Bhathal's candidacy was also dogged by the leak of a 101-page party complaint accusing her of bullying and intimidation, something she repeatedly denied.
When asked if she would consider a seventh run for Batman, Ms Bhathal said it was to soon to tell.
"At the moment I've got no idea. I would have to talk to my husband .... I would have to talk to my boys."
Ten candidates contested the Batman by-election, including former SAS soldier Kevin Bailey for Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives Party.
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