“There is a very real chance that Malcolm Turnbull is considering calling a snap election in the mistaken belief that this will sort out his own problems”, Mr Shorten said.
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People at a reception for Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull watch opposition leader Bill Shorten speaking on a television screen on election night in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, July 3, 2016.
Australia’s opposition leader today called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to resign, dubbing him “the David Cameron of the southern hemisphere” after an inconclusive election plunged the country into political turmoil.
Liberal Senator and Turnbull confidant Arthur Sinodinis said the Prime Minister would be entering dialogue with a number of crossbench MPs in an attempt to form a government.
“I think in the end he should be asking himself if he has done the Liberal Party a service or a disservice”, he said.
“He has taken this nation to an election on the basis of stability”.
The Labor leader said Mr Turnbull had “made a bad situation worse” with Saturday’s election.
‘What he did is he leads a divided party, he’s had an election and he’s delivered and inferior and unstable outcome.
Hours after the polls closed in the longest campaign here in half a century – the race for Prime Minister remained too close to call. However, uncertainty around the result may exacerbate volatility stemming from global events including Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
Turnbull, who is pinning his hopes on mail-in and early ballots that traditionally favor the conservatives, said he remained quietly confident of an eventual victory, and his coalition could indeed still win by a slim margin.
The former banker went to the polls early looking to shore up support and deliver a strong government based on a “jobs and growth” agenda after ousting fellow Liberal Tony Abbott in a party coup last September to become the country’s fourth leader in recent years.
Critics also point out that Mr Turnbull’s ploy to use the election to try to clear out minor parties from the Senate had backfired.
The change means the Coalition has won 70 seats, while Labor has 67, with 80 percent of the vote counted.
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The count was progressing slowly on Tuesday and it is possible the result will not be known for several more days as large numbers of absentee and postal votes are processed. Turnbull said on Sunday that he believes he will obtain the 76 seats needed to govern in the 150-seat house and said he has contacted independents in the event of needing to form a coalition.
The political uncertainty has spooked markets because of the potential for further budget deterioration, with all three worldwide ratings agencies expressing concern about the potential for policy paralysis.
Turnbull, acting as caretaker prime minister while vote counting continues, appeared to have underestimated the protest vote that stole support from both major parties and must now negotiate with minor parties and independents to retain power.
“Mr. Turnbull clearly doesn’t know what he is doing”.
“Three years after the Liberals came to power in a landslide, they have lost their mandate”, Shorten said in a speech to jubilant supporters late Saturday.
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Economists said this could stymie efforts to rein in debt and deficits, undermining business and consumer confidence with repercussions for the economy.
