The wait is finally over – Malcolm Turnbull and his Coalition government have been declared the winners of the 2016 federal election after Bill Shorten conceded defeat.
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The comments come after Australian Marriage Equality claimed that as a result of the 2 July election there is now a “clear majority” of 81 votes in the lower house in favour of same-sex marriage.
In his concession speech on Sunday, opposition leader Shorten said he will write to the Prime Minister urging a bipartisan push towards electronic voting.
In the 150-seat House of Representatives, the lower house, the Australian Electoral Commission is now projecting that the Coalition will likely hold 76 seats-a majority of just one-though it might still be forced to rule as a minority government.
The need for Mr Turnbull to court the support of those outside his party led him to stress that he valued every parliamentarian’s contribution, even though he had earlier warned Australians not to vote for minor parties and independents during the election campaign.
“I respect that Mr Turnbull has won government – be it a minority government or a majority of one or two”, Mr Shorten said.
As counting continues, three contests remain close – Hindmarsh, Capricornia and Herbert – but the coalition is confident of having 76 seats in the 150-seat lower house. Previously, he gained the top job after overthrowing Tony Abbott in a Liberal Party leadership spill motion in September 2015.
He said he would work with Mr Shorten on a proposal to introduce electronic voting to speed up the process of finalising the election results.
“We have resolved this election and done so peacefully”, Turnbull told reporters.
The coalition went into the election with 90 seats in the House, compared with Labor’s 55.
If Turnbull ends up being tossed out, Australia would end up with its fifth prime minister in just over three years, continuing a period of remarkable volatility in the nation’s politics.
Moody’s said such a scenario would be “credit negative”, echoing S&P’s decision last week to cut Australia’s credit rating outlook to negative from stable, threatening a downgrade of its coveted triple A status.
Wilson said: “As discussed with the good people of Goldstein, I will support a plebiscite”.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has demanded a revised Coalition agreement between the Liberal Party and Nationals be made public. “We have some great new stars coming into parliament, I want to welcome them, it will be a new parliament with many new faces – new and younger face.” he said.
With a mandate for his pre-election priorities, now is the time for Turnbull to deliver on his various promises to the startup community, Kikka Capital CEO David Brennan says.
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“It is a handsome reminder that we are trustees. for future generations”, he said. “It shouldn’t be taking eight days to find out who has won”.
