Australia
PM promises 'unity over division'
PM promises 'unity over division'

Anthony Albanese has promised to lead a united government in his second stint as prime minister, following Labor's decisive election win.

Speaking for the first time since his landslide victory, Albanese thanked supporters in his home electorate of Grayndler in Sydney's inner-west.

"The Australian people voted for unity rather than division," he said.

"We will be a disciplined, orderly government in our second term, just like we have been in our first.

"We've been given a great honour of serving the Australian people, and we don't take it for granted, and we'll work hard each and every day."

With 71 per cent of the vote counted, Labor has won 85 seats with the coalition going backwards to sit on 37 seats, while 18 seats remain in doubt.

Labor has increased its majority through substantial swings across all states, picking up marginal seats and formerly coalition strongholds.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese celebrates with his fiancee Jodie Haydon, his son Nathan Albanese and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong. – Reuters

Among the significant wins for Labor was Peter Dutton's electorate of Dickson, as he became the first opposition leader to lose his seat at an election.

Labor's Ali France won the seat in her third time contesting the electorate, booting Dutton out of parliament after a 24-year career.

Albanese expressed sympathy for Dutton following the election outcome.

"I feel for Peter Dutton. He was generous in his comments. I wish him and (wife) Kirilly and his family all the best," he said.

"It's a tough business, politics, there's no doubt about that, and it would have been a tough night for Peter."

The outgoing Liberal leader said he would take full responsibility for the election loss as the coalition looks to rebuild.

"We didn't do well enough during this campaign, that much is obvious," Dutton told party supporters in Brisbane on election night.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Albanese would go down in history as a Labor hero following the result.

"This was beyond even our most optimistic expectations," he said.

"It was a history-making night, it was one for the ages."

The coalition crashed to its lowest-ever primary vote and could record a historic low number of seats, resulting in party soul-searching as the Liberals begin the process of electing a new leader.

Liberal Keith Wolahan, who is on track to lose his Victorian seat of Menzies after one term, said the party needed to rebuild.

"It was clear our party has an issue in urban Australia, which is where most people live … so we need to turn our mind to that like we have never done before," he said.

"We need to really dig deep and think about who we are and who we fight for and who makes up Australia."

Nationals leader David Littleproud said Labor had run the stronger campaign, which made it hard to prosecute the case for a coalition government.

"They ran a campaign where, effectively, they destroyed the character of Peter Dutton, that he became effectively unelectable, not only his own seat, but across the country," he said.

Independents also enjoyed strong results, with "teal" candidates poised to expand their foothold with Nicole Boele ahead in the formerly Liberal-held Sydney seat of Bradfield.

But the election saw the Greens go backwards, recording a slight fall in primary votes and the likely loss of at least two of its Brisbane seats.

Party leader Adam Bandt also suffered a significant swing against him in his seat of Melbourne, although he was slightly ahead of his Labor challenger in the count.

The prime minister said he had received many calls and texts from world leaders following the election win, with the first coming from Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, who rang even before the result was officially declared.

Labor is also set to have an easier path to implementing its second-term agenda, picking three more seats at the coalition's expense, with gains in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

Of the 76 senate seats, Labor stands on 28 seats, the coalition on 26, while the Greens are on 11 and the remainder being won by independents and minor parties. With roughly one-third of the vote counted, five Senate seats still remain up for grabs.

While Labor will still need to negotiate with the crossbench to pass laws in the upper house, they would only have to win support of the Greens to get over the line of 39 seats needed for a majority. With Labor set to win three of the six seats up for grabs in NSW, deputy Nationals leader Perin Davey is in danger of losing her spot in parliament.

The increased turnout for Labor will also mean the party will claim a third seat in Victoria, paving the way for Michelle Ananda-Rajah to return to Canberra.

Ananda-Rajah was elected to the lower house in 2022, but ran in the upper house in 2025 after her Victorian seat of Higgins was abolished in a redistribution.

Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie is also facing a tight battle for her own re-election, with a challenge against Labor for the final seat in the Apple Isle.

After up-ending the political establishment in 2022, independent ACT senator David Pocock has been returned to the upper house, but this time receiving the most votes in the national capital.

One Nation's Malcolm Roberts is also in a close contest to win the sixth and final slot in the Senate for Queensland.

Result reminiscent of Canada

Canada's opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, lost his seat after Trump declared economic war on the US neighbour. Poilievre had previously been regarded as a shoo-in to become Canada's next prime minister and shepherd his Conservative Party back into power for the first time in a decade.

Senior Australian lawmakers say they feared late last year they would become the first government to be tossed out after a single three-year term since the turmoil of the Great Depression in 1931.

Like the centre-left Canadian government, the Australian government had linked their political opponents to Trump's administration and its Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency.

Australia was hit during the five-week election campaign with 10 per cent tariffs on exports to the United States despite trading with its bilateral free trade partner at a deficit for decades.

Opposition leader branded 'DOGE-y Dutton'

The opposition leader was branded "DOGE-y Dutton," and Labor warned that a Dutton government would slash public sector services to pay for seven government-funded nuclear power plants.

Labor said Dutton never campaigned at any of the proposed power plant sites and argued the conservatives realized that nuclear reactors were not popular. There is no nuclear power generation in Australia.

Labor also accused Dutton of igniting culture wars. While Albanese stands before the Australian flag and two Indigenous flags at media announcements, Dutton had said that as prime minister, he would only stand in front of the national flag.

Indigenous Australians account for 4 per cent of the population and are the nation's most disadvantaged ethnic minority.

Chalmers said the direct impacts of US tariffs on Australia were "manageable and relatively modest."

"But there is a huge downside risk in the global economy. I think what's happening, particularly between the US and China, does cast a dark shadow over the global economy. And we're not uniquely impacted by that. But we're really well-placed. We are quite well-prepared," Chalmers said.

Albanese has become the first Australian prime minister to lead a party to consecutive election victories since conservative John Howard in 2004.

Revolving door for Australian political leaders

Howard's 11-year reign ended at the next election in 2007. Like Dutton, Howard also lost his seat in Parliament as well as his government. Howard's departure coincided with the start of an extraordinary period of political instability that created a revolving door for political leaders. There have been six prime ministers since Howard, including one who served in the role twice in separate stints three years apart.

Albanese said the first world leader to congratulate him on his election victory was Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, who phoned at 7:45 a.m.

"He's a very good friend," Albanese said. "I told him it's a bit early to call."

Albanese had also spoken to New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and received text messages of congratulation from British Prime Minister Kier Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Albanese said he would speak to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky later Sunday.


Top seats still to watch as count continues

  • Bean, ACT: The once safe seat is in doubt with independent Jessie Price surging against Labor's David Smith as it comes down to the wire with more than 80 per cent of votes tallied.
  • Bullwinkel, WA: The razor-thin margin between Labor's Trish Cook and the Liberal's Matt Moran is reflected in a 50-50 split of the votes with nearly 70 per cent of the count completed.
  • Forrest, WA: Labor is hoping to add to its tally by stealing the seat from the Liberals who hold it with a 4.2 per cent margin.
  • Goldstein, VIC: After nabbing it from Liberal Tim Wilson in the 2022 election as part of the Teal wave, Zoe Daniel is hoping to retain the crucial Melbourne seat with a slim lead of 1780 votes.
  • Wills, VIC: The Greens' Samantha Ratnam is neck and neck with Labor's Peter Khalil, the government's special envoy for social cohesion, where he leads by more than 940 votes in a campaign where Gaza featured heavily.