The election results are in and Anthony Albanese will be the 31st Prime Minister of Australia. With a few seats still undecided, it’s unclear if Labor will be able to form a majority government. So far, the results sit at the ALP with 72 seats, LNP with 52, and small parties and independents collectively having 15 seats. Twelve seats remain in doubt.
Albanese is sworn in
At Government House this morning, Albanese and four MPs were sworn in to government.
The Governor-General David Hurley has sworn in the new PM, before he is set to go off to Tokyo for the Quad meeting. This morning Albanese said the affirmation before the Governor-General.
“I, Anthony Norman Albanese do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will well and truly serve the Commonwealth of Australia, her land and her people in the office of prime minister.”
Richard Marles was sworn in as the Deputy leader and Minister for Education and will be acting prime minister when Albanese is at the Quad meeting. Penny Wong was sworn in as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and will be heading off to Tokyo along with the PM. Senator Katy Gallagher was sworn in as the Minister for Finance, Minister for Women and the Attorney-General, and Jim Chalmers was sworn in as the Treasurer.
Josh Frydenberg loses seat of Kooyong to Dr Monique Ryan
Former Liberal minister Frydenberg has lost his long-held seat of Kooyong to Independent Dr Ryan.
Frydenberg, who has held the seat since 2010, has faced a massive challenge this election by Ryan.
On Saturday night, Frydenberg all but conceded in a speech, speaking on all he had done for the economy in his time as Treasurer.
“I’ll be proud of that until the end of time,” he said.
“In what looks like to have been my last press conference as Treasurer, I was able to announce that Australia now had an unemployment rate of 3.9 percent.”
Shortly after, Ryan addressed supporters at the Auburn Hotel, saying that history was made.
“We don’t have a concession … But I think we know where we stand,” she said. “We’ve made history tonight. Together.”
“I didn’t write a victory speech. I wrote a concession speech and it said ‘whatever happens, we’ll always have Kooyong 2022.’ The government wasn’t listening to us, so we changed the government.”
Ryan told The Age that she couldn’t believe she has gotten over 40 percent of the vote.
“I didn’t think I’d get it,” she said. “I’ve come from nowhere.”
“There’s a sense of anticipation. We’ve done the work. We’ve done an incredible job and I’m a bit sad the adventure is drawing to a close. Now we cross our fingers.”
Ryan is a teal indepdent who, while having no political experience, has bought in a fierce competition for Frydenberg. Her policies include areas such as climate change, health care, and diversity and inclustivity.
While only 71 percent of the vote has been counted for Kooyong, Ryan has won the seat from preferential voting, with 54 percent.
Which seats are still undecided?
There are 12 seats that are still too close to call.
Five seats are likely to both go to the Labor Party and the Liberal Party, while the Nationals are looking to gain the seat of Cowper, NSW, and The Greens are likely to take the seat of Brisbane.
Labor are likely to take the seats of Bennelong, Deakin, Lyons, Macnamara and Richmond, while the Liberal Party are likely to win in Bass, Gilmore, Menzies, Moore and Sturt.
Photo: Parliament House by Robert Pfeifer available HERE and used under a Creative Commons licence. The photo has not been modified.
