SYDNEY - Anthony Albanese claimed a historic second term as prime minister of Australia on Saturday, in a dramatic comeback against once-resurgent conservatives that was powered by voters’ concerns about the influence of US President Donald Trump.
Peter Dutton, leader of the conservative Liberal party, conceded defeat and the loss of his own seat — echoing the fate of Canada’s conservatives and their leader whose election losses just days earlier were also attributed to a Trump backlash.
Albanese will enter his second term as a Labor hero after leading his party to successive victories — and with an expanded majority. He is the first Australian leader in 21 years to win back-to-back elections.
Australian Broadcasting Corp was projecting at 10.05pm Sydney time that the Labor government would win at least 86 seats in the 151-seat House of Representatives, versus 77 in the previous term.
Supporters at Labor’s election party in Sydney cheered and hugged each other as Albanese claimed victory and said his party would form a majority government.
“Our government will choose the Australian way, because we are proud of who we are and all that we have built together in this country,” he told supporters.
“We do not need to beg or borrow or copy from anywhere else. We do not seek our inspiration from overseas. We find it right here in our values and in our people,” he added.
Albanese said Australians had voted for fairness and “the strength to show courage in adversity and kindness to those in need”.
Dutton — whose Liberals had been leading in opinion polls as recently as February until he became burdened with comparisons to Trump — said he had phoned Albanese to congratulate him.
“We didn’t do well enough during this campaign. That much is obvious tonight, and I accept full responsibility for that,” Dutton said in a televised speech.
The former policeman with a reputation for being tough on crime and immigration said he had spoken to Labor’s candidate in the seat of Dickson he had held for two decades, and congratulated her on her success.
“We have been defined by our opponents in this election which is not the true story of who we are” Dutton said, promising the party would rebuild.
Trump comparisons
Cost-of-living pressures and concerns about Trump’s volatile policies had been among the top issues on voters’ minds, opinion polls showed.
“If you sling enough mud it will stick,” said Liberal Senator for the Northern Territory Jacinta Price, whose comments that her party would “make Australia great again” had fuelled comparisons to Trump’s own “Make America Great Again” slogan.
“You made it all about Trump,” she said on ABC. Dutton had said he would appoint Price to a ministry of government efficiency, one of several echoes of Trump’s policies.
“Losing Peter Dutton is a huge loss,” she added.
Opposition Liberal Party spokesman, Senator James Paterson, defended the conservative campaign, which he said was negatively affected by “the Trump factor”.
“It was devastating in Canada for the conservatives … I think it has been a factor here, just how big a factor will be determined in a few hours’ time,” he earlier told ABC.
Earlier, as counting got under way, Labor Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government had been “in all sorts of trouble” at the end of 2024 but got back into the contest because of Albanese’s strong campaign performance, policies that addressed concerns about the cost of living, and the Trump effect.
As the results started emerging, he told ABC the projected victory was “a win for the ages”. Albanese “has pulled off one of the great political victories since federation”, he said. (Story continues below)
Supporters of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese react at a Labor Party election night event, after media outlets projected the Labor victory in the Australian federal election, in Sydney on May 3. (Photo: Reuters)
Economy at a crossroads
Armed with a strong mandate, Albanese will have to grapple with an economy at a crossroads as its key growth drivers — China, immigration and the housing sector — are all under pressure.
The obvious response, economists say, is a major reform programme to revive economic dynamism and raise living standards, a task successive prime ministers have shied away from because of the political risks involved.
Both sides sought to convey that they had a solution to Australia’s housing crunch. Albanese promised to pour billions of dollars into properties for first-time buyers, while also allowing them to purchase homes with deposits as low as 5%.
At the same time, Labor has an opportunity to cement its clean-energy policies and offer greater certainty to investors.
The centre-left government introduced a raft of decarbonisation and renewable targets during its first term and committed to spending significantly on clean energy and manufacturing. On the campaign trail, it announced a new Cheaper Home Batteries programme to subsidise behind-the-meter storage to ease cost-of-living pressures.