ABC election analyst Antony Green has also said it is certain the Coalition will retain government. I do have faith in him.
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Image: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is followed by a televsion camerman as he walks to his vehicle outside his home in Sydney, Australia, July 5, 2016.
Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove is in France for a Bastille Day celebration, meaning Mr Turnbull will have to wait for his return before being sworn in.
Mr Shorten said he did not envy Mr Turnbull having to “corral all the various forces in his party” to organise a Coalition agreement with the Nationals before gaining the Governor-General’s royal assent.
Shorten said his party would work with the coalition to find common ground, saying he understood Australia’s need for a functioning parliament. He predicted that Australians would be back at the polls within a year owing to Turnbull’s lack of authority. “So, for those that want to cause maximum mayhem in the parliament we won’t be part of that”, said Xenophon.
“This has been a passion of mine, an interest of mine, for a long time”.
Regional Australia Institute CEO Jack Archer said those living outside metropolitan areas had sent a strong message to the major parties.
He said parties should be required to declare they had authorised such messages as they do with television and radio advertisements.
Shorten had earlier held a press conference to officially acknowledge Turnbull would form government.
That message aligns with the Fair Go for Regional Australia that this masthead has been running along with other Australian Regional Media and NewsCorp titles. “I hope for our nation’s sake the coalition does a good job; I hope they run a good government”.
Shorten also outlined how Labor would approach the next parliament.
He said the government should consider re-examining its superannuation changes to ensure they are not retrospective.
Late yesterday afternoon the Australian Electoral Commission had the Coalition on 69 against Labor’s 68. Mail-in and absentee votes that are still being counted days after Saturday’s vote are favouring the conservatives.
With 10 of the 15 million votes now counted, the Coalition is edging towards retaining government by a slim majority.
At least 70 per cent of votes by Wednesday had been counted in districts where the results were closest.
Outside of Queensland Labor is ahead in two more nail-biting contests.
Forde (LNP QLD): Sitting MP Bert van Manen now leads Labor’s Des Hardman by 265 votes in this Logan electorate south of Brisbane.
Despite the result looking favorable for the Turnbull government, the Labor caucus is set to meet on Friday, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten expected to be reaffirmed as Labor leader. “Being elected as the first indigenous woman into the House of Representatives is a moment for this country… this was not lost on the people of Barton”.
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On a projected 66 seats and without support from any of the four independents, Labor is out of the race to form a government but it believes Turnbull could be forced to call another election in a bid to clear the impasse.
