The leader of Australia’s Liberal-National Party (LNP) coalition, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, claimed victory in the federal election on Sunday eight days after polls closed.
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While Turnbull retained power, his gamble in calling an election, ostensibly to clear the Senate of what he saw as obstructive minor parties, backfired badly with a swing to the centre-left Labor opposition and a rise in the popularity of minor parties and independents.
Mr Pyne also rejected suggestions by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Senator Bernardi that the planned same-sex marriage plebiscite should be delayed.
“The Australian people expect all sides of politics to work…in the interest of the people, not just themselves”, he said.
He told the Coalition launch he would be seeking parliament’s early support to pass middle-income earner tax cuts and company tax cuts for businesses with turnovers below $10 million. “A small majority means more stability”, he added.
Doubts have been raised over the passage of government’s Australian Building and Construction Commission bill, which aims to re-establish a watchdog that monitors union activity in Australia’s building industry.
It’s expected Liberal and National MPs would meet in Canberra on July 18.
“It was a moment I will never forget”, Mr Turnbull said.
Mr Shorten made the pledge after conceding defeat on Sunday, insisting Labor would work with the coalition where there was common ground between the parties.
He further said that he would write Turnbull to suggest adopting electronic voting system for the country in order to speed up “the results which should not hang in the balance for so long”.
“I also want to acknowledge the new members”.
“It will be a new parliament and I believe a very exciting and constructive one”, he said. “We are united, we have found our voice”, he wrote.
Mr Shorten has repeatedly called on Mr Turnbull to stand down, saying he has lost his mandate.
None of the other parties have gained over 2 percent of votes.
“If it occurs, S&P will presumably lower the rating one notch to AA+ and the obvious concern is with such a high level of foreign ownership of Aussie debt (60.4% as of March 2016) that we may see forced sellers, which could cause sizeable capital outflows [from] Australia”, said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG in Melbourne.
Meanwhile both Turnbull and Shorten have backed calls to introduce electronic voting so that results take hours rather than days to come in. Labor may win up to 69, with five seats held by independents.
However, Shorten warned that, although he accepted the government had the numbers to push through some elements of its platform, the opposition would “stick to its guns” on key policy areas, including its commitment to the universal healthcare service Medicare, schools funding and jobs.
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‘The Labor party will stick true to its core values. The lesson for me is to never give up and to trust the Australian people.
