Anthony Albanese has pledged to take up the hard work of leading for a second term as prime minister after winning a massive vote of confidence from Australians.

In his first press conference in Canberra since his landslide election win, the prime minister said he was confident of setting up Australia for decades to come.

“Today, we continue the work of continuing to build Australia’s future,” he told reporters on Monday.

“I said before the last election that you needed more than one term as a Labor government, and I sought that from the first day … I became Labor leader back in 2019. 

“I want Labor to be the natural party of government.”

The prime minister confirmed he had spoken to multiple world leaders since Saturday’s win, including US President Donald Trump.

He confirmed his first overseas trip would be to Indonesia and that he had accepted an invitation from Canada’s new prime minister Mark Carney to attend the G7 summit in June.

With an increased majority in parliament, Mr Albanese said he had a large agenda but was not looking to get ahead of himself.

“We’re not getting carried away. We’ve been an orderly government. We’ve been a reform government,” he said.

“We’ll continue to be an ambitious government … and we’ll continue to engage.”

Mr Albanese and his leadership team will meet on Monday to decide a timeline for naming a new ministry and a caucus meeting, which will showcase a swathe of new faces in the party room. 

Depending on the final vote count, the delicate factional balance in the ministry could stir a wider reshuffle, under an ascendant left wing.

Labor, under Mr Albanese, picked up more than a dozen seats, with more on the table as ballot counting continues. The government needed at least 76 out of 150 lower house seats to win and could end up with 85 or more.

The government faces a weakened opposition, with the battered Liberals losing at least 13 seats, and potentially as many as 19, and is sitting on 39 so far.

Leader Peter Dutton was the highest-profile casualty, becoming the first opposition leader to lose his seat as three Liberal frontbenchers were booted from parliament by Labor candidates.

After Mr Dutton’s loss in Dickson, the leadership frontrunners include shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley, defence spokesman Andrew Hastie and immigration spokesman Dan Tehan.

On Monday, some of the Liberal party’s senators conceded the coalition had failed to offer voters a substantial policy platform, especially on the economy.

“You’ve got to have the ambition to lead on the economy and … I don’t think that’s been evident over the last few years,” Liberal senator Andrew Bragg told ABC radio.

The coalition needed to avoid culture wars that targeted minorities and become more inclusive to win back the middle ground, he said, while branding a decision to preference One Nation as “misguided”.

Senate colleague Hollie Hughes, who lost her party’s pre-selection, was scathing of Mr Taylor’s role in the defeat saying “the economic narrative was just completely non-existent” and there were questions about his capability.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers joined the pile-on, saying it would be “extraordinary if Angus Taylor was rewarded with a promotion after the diabolical contribution that he made to this history-making coalition defeat”.

The nosedive in the Liberal vote has also cost the Greens seats, after support for Labor surged and Liberal preferences flowed to the government rather than the minor party.

It cost them Griffith in Brisbane while leader Adam Bandt is fighting to retain his seat of Melbourne, although there’s confidence he will prevail. Other Greens seats remain in doubt.

But Mr Bandt remains defiant, saying the party’s vote had hit a record high and that it would use its balance of power in the Senate to push for progressive reforms.

Labor is pushing ahead with priority reforms such as slashing student debt after a historic election win, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with his top generals to plot the government’s path.

Mr Albanese and his leadership team will meet on Monday to decide a timeline for naming a new ministry and a caucus meeting, which will showcase a swathe of new faces in the party room. 

Depending on the final vote count, the delicate factional balance in the ministry could stir a wider reshuffle, under an ascendant left wing.

Labor under Mr Albanese picked up more than a dozen seats, with more on the table as ballot counting continues. The government needed at least 76 out of 150 lower house seats to win.

His attention now turns to governing after getting his first full night’s sleep since the campaign started in late March.

“People know I am a man of my word, and that begins here today,” Mr Albanese told Sydney radio station Triple M on Monday.

Mr Albanese is also fielding phone calls from world leaders including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

US President Donald Trump offered his congratulations from Washington, although the two have yet to speak by phone.

The prime minister has a decisive mandate after increasing Labor’s majority to at least 85 seats, with 16 still in doubt, and the first item on the legislative agenda is to introduce its 20 per cent student debt cut.

The government faces a weakened opposition, with the battered Liberals losing at least 13 seats and potentially as many as 19.

Leader Peter Dutton was the highest-profile casualty, becoming the first opposition leader to lose his seat while three other Liberal frontbenchers were also booted from parliament by Labor candidates.

With no heir-apparent after Mr Dutton’s loss in Dickson, frontrunners include shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley, defence spokesman Andrew Hastie and immigration spokesman Dan Tehan.

On Monday, some of the Liberal party’s senators conceded the coalition had failed to offer voters a substantial policy platform, especially on the economy.

“You’ve got to have the ambition to lead on the economy and … I don’t think that’s been evident over the last few years,” Liberal senator Andrew Bragg told ABC radio.

The coalition needed to avoid culture wars that targeted minorities and become more inclusive to win back the middle ground, he said, criticising the decision to preference One Nation as “misguided”.

“We have a healthy live and let live ethos in this country and we have diversity, and generally speaking, that’s what most Australians are comfortable with, they don’t want to see division,” he said.

Senate colleague Hollie Hughes, who lost her party’s pre-selection, was scathing of Mr Taylor’s role in the defeat saying “the economic narrative was just completely non-existent” and there were questions about his capability.

“I have concerns about his capabilities, but that is shared by a huge number of my colleagues,” she said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers joined the pile-on, saying it would be “extraordinary if Angus Taylor was rewarded with a promotion after the diabolical contribution that he made to this history-making coalition defeat”.

The nosedive in the Liberal vote has also cost the Greens seats, after support for Labor surged and Liberal preferences flowed to the government rather than the minor party.

It cost them Griffith in Brisbane while leader Adam Bandt is fighting to retain his seat of Melbourne, although there’s confidence he will prevail. Other Greens seat remain in doubt.

But Mr Bandt remains defiant, saying the party’s vote had hit a record high and that it would use its balance of power in the Senate to push for progressive reforms.

Anthony Albanese is bringing together his top generals to nut out the government’s first priorities as the Liberals lick their wounds ahead of anointing a new leader.

Labor won a big majority in Saturday’s federal election, taking a swathe of seats including Peter Dutton’s electorate of Dickson, making him the first opposition leader to lose his seat.

With 75 per cent of the vote counted, Labor has claimed 86 seats in the House of Representatives compared to the coalition’s 39, with 15 seats still in doubt.

On Monday, some of the Liberal party’s senators conceded the coalition had failed to offer voters a substantial policy platform, especially on the economy.

“You’ve got to have the ambition to lead on the economy and … I don’t think that’s been evident over the last few years,” Liberal senator Andrew Bragg told ABC radio.

The Liberals also needed to help households decarbonise and help with mortgages as well as develop policies for small businesses, including deregulation, he said. 

The initial decision to strip back work from home arrangements for the public service, before backtracking, was “a good example of fundamentally misreading the Australian society”, Senator Bragg said.

“It’s very important that we focus on economic issues and that we avoid these culture (war) issues at all costs,” he said, adding that the coalition must not surge further to the right.

“The idea that you preference One Nation, I think, is very misguided,” he said.

“That was very jarring to a lot of voters.”

Shadow ministers were effectively left in the lurch during the policy decision-making processes, his Senate colleague Hollie Hughes said.

“We submitted seven fully costed policies around mental health and suicide prevention in October last year and they disappeared into some form of vortex and we never heard anything about anything back from anybody,” she said.

A new Liberal leader won’t be chosen until final seat numbers are known, with frontrunners including shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley and frontbenchers Dan Tehan and Andrew Hastie.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his deputy Richard Marles are in Canberra on Monday to decide a timeline for the government’s path forward, ahead of cabinet members being sworn in and the resumption of parliament.

“One of the things that renders our success possible is the fact that throughout the last three years, I haven’t had to look over my shoulder,” Mr Albanese told Sydney radio station Triple M.

The nose-dive in the Liberal vote has also cost the Greens seats, after support for Labor surged and Liberal preferences flowed to the government rather than the minor party.

Leader Adam Bandt is fighting to retain his seat of Melbourne, but the party was confident he would prevail, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Greens are also confident of picking up Wills in inner-Melbourne from Labor and retaining Ryan in Brisbane, after losing two other Brisbane-based seats.

Senator Hanson-Young argued the Greens’ vote had held up despite the seat losses, and pointed to the success of Independent MPs as proof that Australians wanted change from a two-party system.

Australians are concerned about the environment, cost of healthcare and housing.

“We’ll be looking at how we can use our balance of power in the Senate, which is stronger than it’s ever been, to deliver reform, progressive reform on those issues,” she said.

YouGov director of public data Paul Smith said the election was a referendum on the leadership of Mr Dutton, which was thoroughly rejected by voters.

“The Liberal Party result was devastating and requires a fundamental reorganisation of who they are … they are not representative of Australians,” he told AAP.

One of Australia’s big four banks has praised the resilience of its customers as they faced up to cost of living issues.

Westpac also said there was welcome relief on the way, now that the Reserve Bank of Australia appeared to be turning into an interest rate easing cycle.

Australia’s oldest bank on Monday posted a dip in first half earnings to $3.3 billion, down one per cent on the same period last year.

“The resilience of customers who have navigated significant cost-of-living challenges over the past few years is impressive,” CEO Anthony Miller said.

“We’re pleased we’ve been able to support customers through this period and RBA rate cuts are now also providing welcome relief.

“This resilience is reflected in the improvement in credit quality metrics, indicating we may have passed the low point in the cycle.”

The bank’s mortgage delinquencies and impairment charges remain low.

However, Mr Miller warned geopolitical uncertainty was a key risk and was “as high as it has been for a very long time”.

This was taken as a reference to US President Donald Trump’s trade and tariffs policies, which will raise the cost of imported goods and sparked fears that America could face an economic recession.

“Changes to global trade policies have impacted markets and funding for the bank,” Mr Miller said.

But he also called on investors to “look through the noise”, adding that Australia was “well placed” to handle the volatility.

“We look forward to working with the (federal Labor) government and combining our efforts to address key challenges and opportunities, including providing more housing, guaranteeing access to cash with a sustainable long-term model and challenging ourselves as to how we compete as a nation going forward,” Mr Miller concluded.

Westpac announced an interim dividend of 76 cents per share, one cent higher than the previous corresponding period.

The coalition will be forced to carry out a “fundamental reorganisation” of the party’s structure to ensure its ongoing relevance to voters after its election wipeout, a leading pollster says.

As votes continue to be counted after Saturday’s poll, figures show the coalition could slump to its lowest percentage of seats in parliament since the formation of the Liberal Party in the 1940s.

With 75 per cent of the vote counted, Labor has claimed 86 seats in the House of Representatives compared to the coalition’s 39, with 15 seats still in doubt.

While Anthony Albanese has claimed an expanded mandate as prime minister with a larger majority in his second term, questions are being raised as to where the coalition will go.

But it could be some time before a new leader is appointed by the Liberals.

Deputy Leader Sussan Ley said the party room would meet to elect an opposition leader and deputy.

After consulting with the party’s senior leadership Ms Ley said several seats where preferential counting was continuing would have to be decided before the meeting could take place.

She said her party was reflecting on the results with humility.

YouGov director of public data Paul Smith said the election was a referendum on the leadership of Peter Dutton, which was thoroughly rejected by voters.

“The Liberal Party result was devastating and requires a fundamental reorganisation of who they are … they are not representative of Australians,” he told AAP.

“This is a situation where if they were a company, you would call in the administrators and look for a new business owner. It is catastrophic what happened.”

After the opposition leader lost his seat of Dickson in Labor’s biggest scalp of the election, a vacuum has emerged for the leadership of the coalition.

Frontrunners include shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley, along with opposition frontbenchers Dan Tehan and Andrew Hastie.

Mr Smith said the loss by the coalition was a “self-inflicted defeat”.

“Their strategy was to win working-class votes in Sydney and Melbourne but the problem was their strategy was at odds with their policies,” he said.

“They now hold no seats in Perth or Adelaide and hardly any in Sydney or Melbourne and lost most seats in Brisbane.”

Mr Albanese has aimed for a tone of humility in his landslide win, thanking supporters in his inner-western Sydney seat of Grayndler on Sunday, before pledging to get back to the job at hand.

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

“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.”

Anthony Albanese has pledged unity in his second term as more Labor MPs are elected to parliament in a decisive victory for his government. 

Labor stormed home to victory in the federal election in an emphatic landslide, reducing the coalition to one of their worst performances at the polls and losing their own leader in the process.

Spending the day after the election in his inner-western Sydney electorate of Grayndler, Mr Albanese pledged he would lead a unified government.

“The Australian people voted for unity rather than division,” he told reporters on Sunday.

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

He later spent time with party volunteers at a brewery, alongside his fiancee Jodie Haydon and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.

With 75 per cent of the vote counted, Labor won 86 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, claiming a larger majority than their first term in office.

The coalition has been consigned to just 39 seats, with its lowest primary vote on record since the party’s formation.

The Greens are also yet to claim any seats.

After their 2022 success, teal independents held on to claim a second term, with the potential of more to join their ranks, including Nicolette Boele in the Sydney seat of Bradfield.

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

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 Mr Dutton out of parliament after a 24-year career.

Mr Albanese expressed sympathy for Mr Dutton following the election outcome.

“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,” Mr Dutton told party supporters in Brisbane on Saturday.

Liberal Deputy Leader Sussan Ley said last night was a very difficult night for her party and it was reflecting on the results with humility.

“Today, our thoughts are also with many Liberal colleagues who have lost their seats, indeed all 150 candidates who ran for the Liberal and National parties across the country,” Ms Ley said.

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

“This was beyond even our most optimistic expectations,” he told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.

Soul searching would soon begin for the coalition as they 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.

with Reuters

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, Mr Albanese thanked supporters in his home electorate of Grayndler in Sydney’s inner-west.

“The Australian people voted for unity rather than division,” he told reporters on Sunday.

“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.

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 Mr Dutton out of parliament after a 24-year career.

Mr Albanese expressed sympathy for Mr 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,” Mr Dutton told party supporters in Brisbane on Saturday.

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

“This was beyond even our most optimistic expectations,” he told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.

“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 told Sky News.

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 Saturday’s 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.

with Reuters

When the United States speaks, Australian investors listen.

And they will be doing so very closely as the much-anticipated US rates decision is handed down on Thursday.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has previously indicated there will be no changes to the cash rate in May, while the bank waits for more information on the effects of recent tariffs.

But what investors are mainly interested in is what comes afterwards, independent economist Craig James says.

“(The decision) shouldn’t have any great impact, providing the Federal Reserve chair indicates that there is still the continued leaning towards interest rate cuts,” he told AAP.

“If it is the case that he winds back the guidance on rate cuts, that could see a degree of disappointment in US markets, and that would have implications for Australian investors as well.”

Commonwealth Bank economists are forecasting the US bank to cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point in each of the next four decision cycles.

But Mr James said the Federal Reserve could take a more cautious attitude, given the impact of the tariffs increasing prices amid a slowing economy which contracted 0.3 per cent in the March quarter.

“That’s something that investors certainly don’t like because the question is how does policy react to a stagflation situation?” the economist said.

“Do you increase interest rates to fight inflation, or do you decrease interest rates because the economy is flat or contracting?”

The Bank of England will also hand down its decision on Friday but Australian investors and markets will pay less attention than the “main game” in the US.

Back home, the Reserve Bank will announce its rates decision on May 20, with the door “wide open” for another rate cut, given inflation is under control – rising by 0.7 per cent in the March quarter.

“But in this volatile environment, they’re going to be fairly careful in terms of what they indicate about future movements,” Mr James said.

Monthly household spending data will also be released on Tuesday and the economist said investors would keenly watch as the key measure would soon replace retail trade data as the Reserve Bank’s indicator on consumer spending.

“Unless it’s significantly away from zero, if it shows a modest rise or modest loss, that will be taken well by investors,” he said.

The federal election result could also be a point of market interest, with anything but a majority government on either side a “worst case”, Mr James said.

“Markets love certainty. Investors love certainty,” he said.

“Hung parliaments would be the worst of all worlds because there could be many independents to lobby in terms of getting votes through.”

Meanwhile, investors on Wall Street have taken comfort from strong economic data and the potential easing of trade tensions between the US and China, with stocks notching a second straight week of gains.

The US economy added 177,000 jobs in April, exceeding expectations, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 per cent.

As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 564.47 points, or 1.39 per cent, on Friday to 41,317.43, the S&P 500 gained 82.54 points, or 1.47 per cent, to 5,686.68 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 266.99 points, or 1.51 per cent, to 17,977.73.

Australian share futures jumped 32 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 11,481.

The S&P/ASX200 rose 92.4 points, or 1.13 per cent, to 8,238, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 90.5 points, or 1.08 per cent, to 8,456.2.

The South Texas home of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket company is on its way to becoming an official city with a galactic name: Starbase.

A vote on Saturday to formally organise Starbase as a city was being approved by a lopsided margin by a small group of voters who live there and are mostly Musk’s employees at SpaceX.

Starbase is the facility and launch site for the SpaceX rocket program that is under contract with the US Department of Defense and NASA that hopes to send astronauts back to the moon and someday to Mars.

Musk first floated the idea of Starbase in 2021 and approval of the new city was all but certain. Of the 283 eligible voters in the area, most are believed to be Starbase workers.

The billionaire’s popularity has diminished since he became the chain-saw-wielding public face of President Donald Trump’s federal job and spending cuts, and profits at his Tesla car company have plummeted.

SpaceX has generally drawn widespread support from local officials for its jobs and investment but the creation of an official company town has also drawn critics who worry it will expand Musk’s personal control over the area, with potential authority to close a popular beach and state park for launches.

Companion efforts to the city vote include bills in the state Legislature to shift that authority from the county to the new town’s mayor and city council.

All these measures come as SpaceX is asking federal authorities for permission to increase the number of South Texas launches from five to 25 a year.

The city at the southern tip of Texas near the Mexico border is only about four square kilometres, crisscrossed by a few roads and dappled with airstream trailers and modest mid-century homes.

SpaceX officials have said little about exactly why they to want a company town and did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

“We need the ability to grow Starbase as a community,” Starbase General Manager Kathryn Lueders wrote to local officials in 2024, with the request to get the city issue on the ballot.

The letter said the company already manages roads and utilities, as well as “the provisions of schooling and medical care” for those living on the property.

SpaceX officials say granting the city authority to close the beach would streamline launch operations.

SpaceX rocket launches and engine tests, and even just moving certain equipment around the launch base requires the closure of a local highway and access to Boca Chica State Park and Boca Chica Beach.

The South Texas Environmental Justice Network, which has organised protests against the city vote and the beach access issue, plan to hold another protest as the polls close.

Labor’s landslide election victory is still sinking in for the party faithful as Anthony Albanese secures an expanded mandate while the coalition licks its wounds.

Increasing its majority in parliament with a resounding victory, Labor has gained a second term in office with large swings across marginal electorates and in former Liberal heartland seats.

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.

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.

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

“This was beyond even our most optimistic expectations,” he told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.

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

“This victory does come as well with healthy helpings of humility, because we know that there are a lot of challenges to address in our economy.”

With expanded numbers in the House of Representatives, Dr Chalmers said Labor was able to implement its “ambitious” agenda.

“One of the reasons why we got this big majority last night is because people recognise that if you wanted stability while the global economy was going crazy, then a majority Labor government was the best way to deliver that,” he said.

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 told Sky News.

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,” Mr Dutton told party supporters in Brisbane on Saturday.

“There are good members, good candidates, who have lost their seats or their ambition and I’m sorry for that.”

Mr Wolahan said the impact of US President Donald Trump’s policies had also cost the coalition votes.

Labor senator Don Farrell said Mr Albanese had run a flawless election campaign.

“(Voters) saw that the prime minister had a vision for this country, he was looking forward, whereas the Liberals were looking backwards,” 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 Saturday’s 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.

World leaders congratulated Mr Albanese on his election victory, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio among those sending well-wishes.

with Reuters