Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been the first Australian leader to win a second three-year term in 21 years. Opposition leader Peter Dutton admitted loss in Saturday’s election, stating, “We didn’t do well enough during this campaign, that much is obvious tonight, and I accept full responsibility for that.” “Earlier, I phoned the prime minister to congratulate him on his success tonight. “It’s a historic occasion for the Labor Party, and we recognise it,” he said.

According to forecasts from the Australian Electoral Commission, Albanese’s ruling center-left Labor Party will win 70 seats and the conservative opposition alliance will win 24 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, the lower chamber where parties must have a majority to establish governments. Unaligned small parties and independent candidates appeared to have a strong chance of winning 13 seats. Antony Green, a respected election analyst at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, predicted that Labor would win 76 seats, the coalition 36, and unaligned parliamentarians 13. Green stated that Labor would form a majority or minority government, but the coalition had no chance of forming even a minority administration. Energy policy and inflation have been important topics during the campaign.with both sides agreeing the country faces a cost-of-living crisis.

Opposition leader branded ‘DOGE-y Dutton

Dutton’s conservative Liberal Party blames government waste for driving inflation and raising interest rates, and has promised to cut more than one in every five public-sector positions to slash government spending.

While both agree that the UK should achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, Dutton contends that relying on additional nuclear power rather than renewable energy sources like solar and wind turbines would result in less priced electricity. The opposition leader has been dubbed “DOGE-y Dutton” by the government center-left Labor Party, which has accused him of copying US President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency.

The Australian Electoral Commission’s projections gave Albanese’s ruling center-left Labor Party 70 seats and the conservative opposition coalition 24 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, the lower chamber where parties need a majority to form governments. Unaligned minor parties and independent candidates appeared likely to win 13 seats

A cost-of-living crisis as the country faces generational change

The election is taking place against the backdrop of what both parties see as a cost-of-living catastrophe. Foodbank Australia, the country’s largest food relief agency, stated that 3.4 million households in the country of 27 million people were food insecure last year.

This meant that Australians were skipping meals, eating less, or concerned about running out of food before they could afford to buy more. In February, the central bank cut its benchmark cash interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 4.1%, signaling that the worst of the financial turmoil had passed. The interest rate is largely likely to be slashed again at the bank’s next board meeting on May 20, this time to encourage Investment amid global economic uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariff plans. Both campaigns focused on Australia’s changing demographics. The election marks the first time in Australia when Baby Boomers, born between the conclusion of World War II and 1964, are outnumbered by younger voters.

Both campaigns pledged programs to assist first-time home buyers in entering a market that is prohibitively pricey for many.

The election could produce a minority government

Going into the election, Labor had a 78-seat majority in the 151-seat House of Representatives. The next parliament will have 150 seats owing to redistribution.

If Labor loses more than two seats, it may be forced to create a minority government with the help of non-aligned members. Following the 2010 election, there was a minority administration, and the previous one existed during World War II. The last time no party earned a majority, it took 17 days after the votes ended before important independent members announced their support for a Labour government.

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