Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, wearing a suit, tie and glasses, standing at a lectern and speaking.

The Albanese Labor government has won a second term. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

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Politics

Anthony Albanese and Labor win the federal election as Peter Dutton loses his seat — as it happened

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has won a second term and is projected to have an increased majority, while Opposition leader Peter Dutton has lost his seat to Labor's Ali France.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, wearing a suit, tie and glasses, standing at a lectern and speaking.

The Albanese Labor government has won a second term. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

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Updated

Source: SBS News

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5 days ago
'Load of rubbish': Hanson defends One Nation-Coalition preferences
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has clashed with Workplace Relations minister Murray Watt over preference arrangements between the Coalition and One Nation.

In the lead-up to the federal election, the Coalition chose to list One Nation above Labor on its how-to-vote cards.

In some Queensland seats, they appear in second position, breaking from a long-term policy of placing One Nation last initiated by former prime minister John Howard.
READ MORE

One Nation's three 'obvious' chances at more power amid signs of growing support

Watt questioned the change in position, drawing laughter from Hanson.

"Your stance we are a racist party is a load of rubbish," she said on Sky News.

She said One Nation could deliver the Coalition seats in parliament and she'd rather work with them than Labor.

"You are not true to your word ... I have no time for you or the Labor party."

- Ewa Staszewska
5 days ago
No path for Coalition to lead majority government, analysts tell SBS News
Our analysts from Redbridge and Accent Research are now confident the Coalition appears to have no path to majority government based on the numbers they are seeing.

"It's looking really narrow for the Coalition, certainly no majority," Accent Research principal Shaun Ratcliff says.

"There's no pathway that we can see for the Coalition to win a majority at this election, and the pathway to them winning enough seats to form government in any way, looks very narrow.

"They're not gaining ground in the sort of seats they were hoping to win — seats like Werriwa in the outer west of Sydney.

"At the moment, at least in these early counts, we're not seeing any swings to the Coalition there.

"It's looking really hard to see a lot of gains for the Coalition here, and it looks very possible we'll see Labor take seats off the Coalition."

— Anna Henderson and Charis Chang
5 days ago
Focus on Wannon as former trade minister faces ex-Triple J host
One of the seats we're keeping an eye in is Wannon in Victoria where former education and trade minister Dan Tehan — the incumbent Liberal MP — is being challenged by former Triple J host Alex Dyson, who is running as an independent.

Here's the latest state of play:
1746265327760-two-candidate-preferred.png
The state of play in Wannon
— Alex Britton
5 days ago
Predictions for Cunningham, Maranoa, Farrer, New England
Political consultancy firm Redbridge Group is predicting the results in a number of seats:
  • Cunningham, NSW, for Labor's Alison Byrnes
  • Maranoa, QLD, for Nationals leader David Littleproud
  • Farrer, NSW, for the Liberals' Sussan Ley
  • New England, NSW, for the Nationals' Barnaby Joyce
5 days ago
Labor HQ celebrate an early swing in Dutton's electorate
The mood at Labor HQ is upbeat.

The biggest early cheer came when the ABC flashed up results from Dickson, Opposition leader Peter Dutton's seat — where Labor has poured considerable resources into turfing him out.

With 1.1 per cent of the vote counted as of 7.25pm AEST, there is an almost 11 per cent swing towards Labor candidate Ali France.
Graphic showing 59.2% to Ali France and 40.8% to Peter Dutton
Early counts show a swing toward Labor in Dickson. Credit: SBS
Dutton described Labor's claims his marginal seat is a target as a "con job" on Friday.

There were also loud cheers when the results in the far north Queensland seat of Leichhardt were shown, where former basketball star Matt Smith is running to succeed popular retiring Coalition MP Warren Etsch, and Gilmore, where Fiona Phillips is fighting a second challenge from Liberal candidate Andrew Constance — a former NSW state government minister.

— Naveen Razik
5 days ago
Greens MPs gather with party faithful, hoping to keep Brisbane seats won in 2022
Incumbent Greens candidates for the three Brisbane seats the party won in 2022 have arrived at the party's headquarters to an excited reception.

After historic wins in the last federal election, the party is hoping to retain the inner city seats of Brisbane, Griffith and Ryan, respectively held by Stephen Bates, Max Chandler-Mather and Elizabeth Watson-Brown.
A woman with short grey hair smiles enthusiastically while talking to someone.
Elizabeth Watson-Brown, MP for Ryan, is one of three Greens MPs hoping to retain their inner-city Brisbane seats. Source: SBS / Jesmine Cheong
A group of people are in a dark room laughing and amiling together, there are green lights and green t-shirts.
Greens supporters are beginning to gather at party headquarters in the electorate of Griffith to await the election results. Source: SBS / Yesmine Cheong
— Jesmine Cheong
5 days ago
Peter Dutton says he 'believe in miracles'
Coalition leader Peter Dutton told 9News he "believe[s] in miracles", but it has been "tough" to remain positive during the election campaign.

A first-term government has not lost a federal election since 1931.

But Dutton said he has "no more hair to lose" and will wait to see how vote counting progresses over the coming hours.

Liberal insiders have told SBS News that the Coalition sees a path to victory through Melbourne's suburbs, and believe a Coalition minority government is in play.

— Yasmine Alwakal and Sara Tomevska
5 days ago
Watch: Australian voters share their views
SBS News hit the streets today. Here's what Australian voters across the country had to say:
5 days ago
Coalition ran the 'worst campaign in living memory', Bill Shorten says
Former Labor leader, Bill Shorten told 7NEWS he believes: "the Coalition have run the worst campaign in living memory".

Shorten said he is "quietly confident" Labor will win the election, and believes Anthony Albanese ran a "disciplined [election] campaign".

Warren Mundine — who was a prominent anti-Voice to Parliament campaigner and ran as the Liberal candidate for the NSW seat of Gilmore in the 2019 federal election — accused Albanese of being a "disciplined liar" throughout the campaign.

— Yasmine Alwakal
5 days ago
Liberal insiders say 'quiet Australians' will punish Labor over the cost of living
Despite the published polls and a bumpy campaign, Peter Dutton is still hoping to make history tonight as the first Opposition leader to unseat a first term government in nearly 100 years.

But for that to happen, everything has to go right.

The Coalition sees a path to victory through Melbourne's suburbs, which is exactly where Peter Dutton started his day, visiting the Labor seats of Macnamara and Gorton, then the former Liberal-turned Teal seat of Goldstein.

He then came to his hometown of Brisbane to vote in his electorate, Dickson,
which is Queensland's most marginal seat
.

Liberal insiders say they believe a Coalition
minority government
is in play, as confident "quiet Australians" will punish Labor over the cost of living in a 2019 Scott Morrison-style miracle.

The flow of preferences in key seats will be critical to tonight's outcome, with counting now underway.

— Sara Tomevska
5 days ago
Appearing optimistic, Labor faithful begin to gather to watch the tally
Labor faithful are starting to amass at the party headquarters tonight in Sydney, and there is an optimistic mood, mixed with some nerves.

The confident tone was set by the prime minister throughout the day.

Anthony Albanese's visit to the MCG was not just a play to parochial Victorians, a state that's crucial in this race; it was about projecting the image of an ascendant leader with a winning track record.
Anthony Albanese speaks in front of a camera on the sidelines of an empty sports stadium field.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese conducted Breakfast TV interviews at the Melbourne Cricket Ground earlier this morning. Source: AAP / AAP Image / Lukas Coch
Throughout his appearances today, the prime minister was relaxed, chatty and, perhaps a little worn down by a gruelling campaign, having visited some 52 seats, more than a third of the parliament, in the last five weeks — including Menzies in Melbourne and Reid in Sydney today.

But he's satisfied the offer he's put to voters is enough to build a second-term mandate.

Earlier this year, he told caucus the game plan was about kicking with the wind in the final quarter and seizing the momentum back later in the term.

We've now heard the final siren, and we'll see voters hand down the score tonight.

— Naveen Razik
5 days ago
Preferential voting tipped to be 'hugely significant'
SBS World News spoke to Simon Welsh from political consultancy firm Redbridge. He said recent polling suggests:

"We are still looking at a Labor, possibly
minority government
but ... there could be some surprises tonight with parties under-performing or over-performing".

Chief Political Correspondent Anna Henderson said people were frustrated at voting centres across Australia today.

"It didn’t seem like baseball bats were out, but people ... are dealing with a tough reality around their standard of living," she said.
READ MORE

Tax cuts or cheaper fuel? The cost of living trade-off facing Australians this election

"Whether the blame lies with the government, we'll have to wait and see."

Welsh also believes
preferential voting
will also be "hugely significant" in this election and Australians will not see "the same old traditional transfer of votes" to major parties.

— Yasmine Alwakal
5 days ago
'No perfect campaign', says Coalition campaign spokesperson
Liberal home affairs spokesperson James Paterson has conceded
Opposition leader Peter Dutton's
election campaign didn't go entirely to plan.

"There is no perfect campaign ... there were a few missteps along the way," he told the ABC.

"The prime minister didn't have a perfect campaign either," he added.
READ MORE

A campaign of small ideas could come down to just two seats

"He had a few gaffes, like when he said the Australian Defence Force was monitoring the
Chinese research vessel
when it was Australian Border Force and other issues like that, so no leader and no campaign had a perfect showing," he said.

"I can say from someone who was at Coalition campaign headquarters, who was a member of the parliamentary party, it was a highly professional campaign. People diligently applied themselves and worked together."

— Gabrielle Katanasho
5 days ago
Greens leader calls the election campaign a 'battle of the bandaids'
Greens leader Adam Bandt is calling the election campaign a "battle of the bandaids", referring to the two major parties' policies to address issues affecting Australians.

Speaking from his headquarters at a bar in Melbourne's CBD, Bandt says there's a "growing sense" the public can't keep voting for the same two parties and expecting the same result.

"There's been a hundred dollars here, a hundred dollars there, maybe it lasts for a year, maybe it comes in in a year," Bandt said.

"And people were after a party that's tackling the big issues so we are certainly getting feedback from people on the polling booth that are seeing that's what we're doing this election."

The Greens are hoping to pick up two seats from Labor in Melbourne’s inner suburbs, Wills and Macnamara, which are both considered safe Labor seats.

In Queensland, the Greens are fighting to hold on to three seats: Ryan, Brisbane and Griffith.

— Catriona Stirrat
5 days ago
Vote counting has begun — so when will we have a result?
House of Representatives votes are being counted — and some early figures are trickling in.

The first results are emerging from Sydney's outer south-west seat of Fowler, where Independent Dai Le is hoping to retain her seat against Labor's Tu Le.

There's no hard and fast timing on when counts will be reported, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) says, but close seats will be prioritised wherever possible as the counting period progresses.
READ MORE

When will Australians know who the next prime minister will be?

The first indications of results in individual House of Representatives divisions are always made by electoral analysts and commentators — not the AEC.

They are likely to give a projection of which party is likely to form government sometime tonight.

You can check
SBS live results page
for the state of play.

— Gabrielle Katanasho
5 days ago
Polls are now closed in SA and the NT, leaving only Western Australia to start the count
At 6:30pm AEST, polls have closed in South Australia and the Northern Territory.

The Northern Territory has two seats, Solomon and Lingiari - the latter taking up the majority of the territory including 73 Aboriginal communities.

Both seats are currently held by Labor, but Marion Scrymgour only won Lingiari by 1.7 per cent in 2022 and the Coalition has had the seat firmly in their sights.

South Australia has 10 electorates and six senate seats up for grabs. It is home to two marginal seats, Sturt and Boothby in Adelaide.

This leaves only Western Australia to start the count, where polls will close at 8:00pm AEST.

— Phoebe McIlwraith
5 days ago
Cost-of-living and housing key issues for some in Sturt
Voters in the Adelaide electorate of Sturt told SBS News that cost of living and
housing
are the key issues behind their vote this election, with polls in the state set to close in a matter of minutes.

One Sturt voter said he was disappointed in the major parties'
cost-of-living
policies:

"The prices are going up all the time, and [they] seem a bit reluctant on addressing the issues," he said.

"We had Peter Dutton being asked about the price of eggs and he couldn't even answer."
READ MORE

As the leaders finish with egg on their faces, here's how they fared across all four debates

A woman said one of her key concerns is housing for older Australians.

"I think these days there are a lot of older people in the homeless situation and
they find it very hard to find a rental
, so that is my very important issue that I want to share."

Sturt is held by the Coalition with a very slim margin of 0.45 per cent.

— Catriona Stirrat
5 days ago
With more booths open, Australians vote from around the world
With 111 overseas voting locations in 83 countries, this year had the highest number of international polling places available.

For Australians, living, working or holidaying overseas, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Austrade managed voting locations to collect in-person and postal votes.

In-person voting was available for the first-time in Kolkata, India; Koror, Palau; and Male, Maldives.
Two people stand in front of a purple voting centre sign and a teal Australian Consulate-General Kolkata, India sign.
Jacinta and Sourabh from Sydney were the first in-person voters at the Australian consulate-general in Kolkata, India, which previously only collected postal votes. Credit: Kolkata Post
With two rugby games in Fiji today (Fiji v Australia women's teams and Queensland Reds v Fijian Drua Super Rugby teams) hosting international fans, Australia's high commissioner to Fiji is making sure voters won't miss out.

"We are cooking up local
democracy sausages
here in support of a local charity," Peter Roberts said.

"I don't want to create any beef with other Australian embassies and high commissions around the world but I'm pretty confident our democracy sausages will be the best."

— Veronica Lenard
5 days ago
Independent MP vies for votes in Warringah
Zali Steggall, independent MP for Warringah in Sydney's north, said she was "excited" to see everyone out voting and "taking our democracy seriously".

She said a third of the voters in Warringah are new to the electorate following boundary changes that re-allocated voters in the now-abolished electoral division of North Sydney to the surrounding divisions of
Bennelong
, Bradfield and Warringah.

Steggall said she received "a lot of positive feedback" during interactions with the community, including door-knocking, letterbox-dropping, and two town halls.
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05:55
Steggall also said the potential for a minority government means "sensible legislation can pass through parliament", pointing to what she described as the success of minority governments at the NSW state level.

"The Perrottet government was minority and the Minns government is minority and the wheels don't fall off," Steggall said.

"It's not chaos, it can work really productively. So I think a parliament of collaboration can be a really good thing for Australia."

— Catriona Stirrat
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