With Shorten’s centre-left Labor Party out of the running, just two options remain: Either the coalition will form a majority government by a slim margin, or the country will have a hung parliament.
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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at Campbelltown Memorial Oval in Adelaide with minister Christopher Pyne on Saturday 4 June 2016. It is vital that we work together and as far as we can ensure that we all agree.
On Monday a spokesman for Zimmerman reiterated his position that he would have advocated a free parliamentary vote if he were present when the Liberal party room debated same-sex marriage in August but he now supports a plebiscite because that’s what the party room had decided and the policy taken to the election.
“It’s vital that this parliament works”.
One of the greatest challenges for the Coalition will be getting its proposed budget changes through significant crossbench opposition in the Senate.
“It sounds very courageous and chest-beating when you say it anonymously”, he said.
Multimillionaire former banker and lawyer Malcolm Turnbull has clung to power in Australia, but the tech-savvy grandfather dubbed “Mr Harbourside Mansion” won only a begrudging victory with voters.
Malcolm Turnbull claims victory for ruling conservatives in general election after Labor opposition concedes defeat.
“Now eight or nine months ago we were staring down the barrel of losing up to 30 to 38 seats according to the polls”.
The Prime Minister expected Liberal and National MPs would meet in Canberra on July 18.
Shorten publicly conceded defeat at a press conference where he acknowledged the Coalition government had a “mandate” to pursue its political agenda.
“We are trustees for future generations. Everything we do is about the future”.
Eight days after the longest and closest national election, the Australian Electoral Commission concluded the coalition won the 76 seats needed for an absolute majority in the 150-seat House of Representatives.
He pledged to work towards bipartisanship where possible, saying Australians deserved “nothing less” than a functioning parliament.
“I expect them to do nothing less than to keep their promises they made to the Australian people”.
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. “Every member of the House and the Senate deserves respect because they have been elected by the Australian people”.
“We must ensure a strong economy in years ahead”.
Despite the election loss it is believed that Shorten has the support of the Labor to continue as leader of the party due to the Labor winning as many as 69 seats compared to 55 in the 2013 election.
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“I have to say on a family note, when Bill called me I had my granddaughter Isla on my left hip, so she was a one-year-old witness to history”, the PM said.
