AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s coalition will form the next government, opposition leader Bill Shorten said Sunday.
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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.
“It is clear that Mr Turnbull and his Coalition will form a government, whether or not it’s minority or a majority of one or two seats”, Mr Shorten said.
“It is something we should celebrate, but not take for granted that here in Australia we settle these big political issues, we settle who sits in our parliaments, we settle who governs our country, and we do so peacefully through our democratic processes”, Turnbull said.
Mr Shorten said the Australian people appreciate authenticity and would respect Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull “if he stuck to his own views before he became Liberal leader”.
Of its 76 seats, the Coalition is projected to have roughly 30, Labor 26 and the Greens nine.
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.
Turnbull later welcomed Shorten’s offer to find “common ground”, underlining the need for “goodwill in this new parliament”.
The silver-haired grandfather immediately pledged to provide economic leadership, while being a more consultative leader, restoring traditional cabinet government and ending policy-on-the-run.
The country seemed headed for a hung parliament.
“I am proud Labour is back and that Labour is united”, he said.
“It’s vital that this parliament works”, he said on Sunday. “We have secured the largest number of seats in parliament”.
The tight result is likely to put pressure on the government’s agenda, particularly in the Senate, where many independent and minor party candidates are set to take office.
“It’s not a good start for this government if their first action is to have a secret deal”, Mr Shorten told reporters in Melbourne.
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.
“I’ve been an advocate of electronic voting for a long time”, Turnbull said.
A centrist, Mr Turnbull persuaded the Liberals’ rightists that he could rescue the party from its dire electoral prospects under his divisive predecessor, Tony Abbott, whom he unseated last September.
The Prime Minister said it was too early to speculate whether the Government would be able to pass the legislation which he used to trigger the double dissolution election – bills to crack down on union corruption and reinstate the construction industry watchdog. “But we also have to stand up for Medicare to make sure schools are properly funded and to prioritize Australian jobs”.
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While Mr Williams was performing strongly in the postal vote, Mr Georganas was staying ahead thanks to absentee votes.
