Australia’s Labour opposition leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat in national elections Sunday eight days after voters went to the polls, allowing the ruling conservatives to form a new government.
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Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Sunday said his ruling government has won victory in the federal election.
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.
The coalition is on track to win at least 74 seats in the lower house of Australian parliament, the House of Representatives, and remains confident that it can win at least two of the five seats still in doubt to obtain the majority required to form a government.
Mr Shorten said he would write to Mr Turnbull to suggest a bipartisan push to embrace electronic voting, saying election results should not hang in the balance for so long.
Independents Bob Katter and Cathy McGowan have said they will support the Government on confidence and supply – ensuring it can stay in power and the funds to run the country keep flowing. Labor has gained ground with 66 seats, and there are five independents and minor parties holding seats.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten conceded the narrow loss yesterday after the Australian Electoral Commission showed the Coalition would win 76 seats in the House of Representatives.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull arrives at Parliament House for work on Monday, after claiming victory in the 2016 election.
He had ousted then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott in a party coup past year.
Despite the projections of a lower house majority, Mr Turnbull is likely to face opposition in the upper house Senate over a key part of his government’s May budget – multi-billion-dollar corporate tax cuts to shore up an economy shifting away from a dependence on mining investment. The agency said Australia needs “more forceful fiscal policy decisions” to reign in debt and believes such tough measures could be postponed by the new Parliament.
In the 2013 election, the coalition had 90 seats and Labor had 55.
Asked whether he thought his party would win a majority, Turnbull replied simply: “We’ve won the election”.
“We’re a grown-up democracy, it shouldn’t take eight days to find out who’s won”, Shorten said.
Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove is in France for a Bastille Day celebration, meaning Mr Turnbull will have to wait for his return before parliament is sworn in.
It probably wasn’t the welcoming note Malcolm Turnbull was hoping for on his first day back as prime minister.
‘We need to ensure that Medicare, our education, our health services and all those vital government services are provided for and Australians feel secure, that they are provided for, ‘ he said.
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Turnbull thanked Australian people for voting him in.
