Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s centre-left Labor Party has won the federal election, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton, head of the conservative Liberal Party, conceded defeat after early counts showed his party would lose, and called Mr Albanese to congratulate him on the win.
Mr Dutton also lost his seat of Dickson in Brisbane to the Labor candidate. He had held the seat for 24 years.
The Liberal Party leader said he accepts “full responsibility” for his party’s loss and “tonight is not the night” he wanted, adding: “We didn’t do well enough during this campaign.”
Mr Albanese is the first Australian prime minister to win a second consecutive three-year term in 21 years.
Cost-of-living pressures and concerns about US President Donald Trump’s volatile policies had been among the top issues on voters’ minds.
Labor had branded the opposition leader “Doge-y Dutton” and accused his party of mimicking Mr Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
Mr Albanese’s party had argued that under Mr Dutton, services would be slashed to pay for his party’s nuclear ambitions.
“We’ve seen the attempt to run American-style politics here of division and pitting Australians against each other and I think that’s not the Australian way,” Mr Albanese said.
Anthony Albanese voting earlier on Saturday in Sydney with his partner, Jodie Haydon. Pic: Reuters
Supports of Anthony Albanese hugged at a Labor Party election night event after ABC called the result. Pic: Reuters
Mr Dutton’s party blamed government waste by Labor for fuelling inflation and increasing interest rates.
He had pledged to axe more than one in five public service jobs to reduce government spending.
Mr Dutton had said he wanted to become the first political leader to oust a first-term government since 1931, when Australians were reeling from the Great Depression.
However, that dream was quashed as the electorate sided with the Labor Party.
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