Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaking at a Liberal Party function during the Australian general election in Sydney July 3, 2016.
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“This is a great day”, Mr. Turnbull said in a press conference shortly after opposition Labor leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat.
Mr Turnbull formally claimed victory on Sunday a week after the July 2 federal election, one of the longest in Australian history, after Opposition Leader Bill Shorten phoned to concede defeat.
Uncertainty surrounding the election prompted rating agency Standard & Poor’s to downgrade Australia’s coveted AAA credit rating last week from “stable” to “negative”. If that happens, Turnbull’s coalition will forge an alliance with independent and minor party lawmakers to form a minority government.
The Coalition parties won 26 of the 76 seats, while Labor won 23, the Greens three, NXT two, and the anti-immigrant One Nation Party got one seat.
But Turnbull now has to contend with a reduced majority, pro-union Labor’s higher number of seats and an increased number of independents and minor parties representatives in the Senate, so attempts to pass the bills could once again struggle.
But while there will be no change for now, Turnbull is in a weakened position after the poll, having lost his comfortable majority in the House of Representatives and the internal blame games are already taking place.
“To go over to a whole electronic voting system … at the next election when we’ve never done that before at any level of government seems to be not a good way to approach something that’s so important”, she said.
Labor has won 66, and with five independents elected, the opposition does not have sufficient seats to govern in Canberra, according to the projections.
Still, Industry Minister Christopher Pyne, who was slapped down for celebrating victory early on Friday, said the coalition had a clear mandate to deliver on its election promises.
“And as I said, I wish Malcolm Turnbull well in what the future holds”.
There are two possibilities: Either the coalition will form a majority government by a slim margin, or the country will have a hung parliament.
And Mr Shorten has pledged Labor would work with the Coalition where there was common ground between the parties.
Former Australian leader Paul Keating once said Mr Turnbull was brilliant and fearless, but had no judgment.
Because of our close trade and political links, it is extremely important for New Zealand that Australia prospers and thrives.
Counting in Australia, where voting is compulsory, is usually resolved on the same evening that Australia’s 15 million voters cast their ballots.
“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.
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Turnbull called the election early, hoping to shore up his power after ousting fellow conservative Tony Abbott in a Liberal Party vote in September but the move appears to have backfired.
