A jubilant Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised to lead a united government in his second term following Labor’s landslide election win, which saw the Liberal-National coalition decimated and Opposition leader Peter Dutton defeated in his own seat.
Mr Albanese reflected: “The Australian people voted for unity rather than division.”
“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 75% of the vote counted by 4pm Sunday AEST, Labor had won 86 seats with the coalition going backwards to sit on less than half that number at just 39 seats.
15 seats remain in doubt.
Labor increased its majority through substantial swings across all states, picking up marginal seats and former coalition strongholds.
OPPOSITION LEADER PETER DUTTON LOSES HIS SEAT
Among the significant wins for Labor was Peter Dutton’s northern Brisbane electorate of Dickson, as he became the first sitting opposition leader to lose his seat at an election.
Labor’s Ali France won the seat in her third time contesting the electorate, pushing Mr. Dutton out of parliament after a 24-year career.
Mr Albanese expressed sympathy for his arch rival of the last three years.
“I feel for Peter Dutton. He was generous in his [concession] 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 night.
“A HISTORY MAKING NIGHT — ONE FOR THE AGES”
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 the 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.
The Australian Associated Press reports that’s resulted in party soul-searching as the Liberals begin the process of electing a new leader.
SOUL SEARCHING WITHIN THE LIBERAL PARTY
Liberal Keith Wolahan, who is on track to lose his Victorian seat of Menzies after just 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 asserted.
“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 in his own seat, but across the country,” he told Sky News.
MIXED FORTUNES FOR THE GREENS AND INDEPENDENT TEALS
Independents also enjoyed strong results, taking at least 10 seats, with ‘teal’ candidates poised to expand their foothold with Nicole Boele ahead in the formerly Liberal-held Sydney seat of Bradfield.
The election saw the Greens recording a slight fall in primary votes and the likely loss of at least two of its Brisbane seats.
Even party leader Adam Bandit has a fight to hold onto his Melbourne seat.
The Greens will remain a force in the Senate with projections giving the party 11 seats.
LOST OPPORTUNITY FOR MINOR CONSERVATIVE PARTIES
Conservative and Christian minor parties would most likely have outpolled One Nation in most Senate races and won Upper House seats and saved a few coalition seats, if they had joined forces.
It was a lost opportunity with Trumpet of Patriots, People First, Family First and Christian parties all running their own races.
The Australian Christian Lobby posted:
Congratulations to the Labor Party on the 2025 federal election.
We pray that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and all who have been elected will lead with wisdom, integrity, and a heart for justice — serving the people of Australia with humility and strength.
May God guide you in your leadership.
We look forward to continuing our work with all elected members across the country — to uphold truth, protect the vulnerable, and engage on the issues that matter most to Australians.
The prime minister said he had received many calls and texts from world leaders following the election win.
The first came from Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, who rang even before the result was officially declared.
With Australian Associated Press (AAP)
