Yesterday, the PM met with Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Martin Parkinson in Canberra – a day after Labor leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat in the federal election.
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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declared victory Sunday, a week after cliffhanger elections were held, leaving his conservatives with a fragile grip on power amid voter angst as Australia’s long resources-boom draws to an end.
“We’re a grown up democracy – it shouldn’t be taking eight days to find out who won and who lost”, Shorten said over the weekend, “We can’t afford to let Australia drift for eight days after an election”.
“It is vital that this Parliament works”, said Mr Turnbull, adding that Australia faced numerous challenges including a rocky transition away from a dependence on mining-driven growth.
While Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s overall approval increased 2 per cent over the same period to 39 per cent, his disapproval increased by the same margin to 41 per cent, leaving his net approval rating unchanged at -2.
The need for Mr Turnbull to court the support of those outside his party saw him stress that he valued every parliamentarian’s contribution, even though he had warned Australians not to vote for minor parties and independents during the election campaign.
“We need to ensure that all the vital government services are provided, and at the same time, we have to ensure we bring our budget back into balance”, said Turnbull.
But the Coalition is still confident it can still make up 76 seats to form a majority government. If that happens, Turnbull’s coalition will forge an alliance with independent and minor party lawmakers to form a minority government.
The government went into the election with a comfortable majority of 90 seats and few had predicted it would suffer such steep losses.
Hastie, a government backbencher and former SAS soldier, argued it was disconnected from regular people, and argued aspects of the Coalition’s superannuation policy as a burden during the campaign.
“I think the news is good because as a country and as a tech startup community we can move forward instead of the holding pattern of the last two weeks”, Lim says.
The National Party, which took one seat from its coalition partner and held other key electorates, meet tomorrow ahead of striking a formal agreement with the Liberal Party.
The chaos follows one of the closest elections in Australian history, which failed to deliver an immediate victor.
The prime minister has long advocated electronic voting and the opposition leader will write to him this week to offer bipartisan support.
“The election result raises a big question for startups: How much should we put our eggs into one basket and follow the hype of either party’s announcements? Those who are in a better position to contribute, including those who are taking advantage of tax concessions, have a role to play in budget fix”.
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Shorten said they had a mandate to stand up for Medicare to make sure schools are properly funded and to prioritise Australian jobs.
