Australian PM wins 2nd consecutive term

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged national unity on Sunday following a resounding victory in the federal election to secure his second term.

Spending Sunday in his Sydney electorate of Grayndler, Albanese said he would lead a unified government.

"The Australian people voted for unity rather than division," he said. "We will be a disciplined, orderly government in our second term, just like we have been in our first."

His Labor Party claimed victory on Saturday night, with projections that gave it a comfortable lead in getting at least 76 seats in the House of Representatives needed to form government.

By Sunday evening, the Labor Party was leading with 82 seats in the lower house of the parliament against 38 seats under opposition leader Peter Dutton's coalition of the Liberal and National parties, according to the Australian Electoral Commission.

More than 18 million Australians were enrolled to vote in the federal election, the commission said.

With his latest victory following the 2022 win, Albanese is the country's first prime minister to clinch two consecutive elections since John Howard in 2004.

Responding to a media query about the Australian election results, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that China has noted the reports and congratulates the Labor Party and Albanese.

"China stands ready to work with the new Australian government led by Prime Minister Albanese and, under the fundamental guidance provided by the important common understandings between the leaders of the two countries, continue advancing a more mature, stable, and productive comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Australia to further benefit both countries and peoples, and contribute positively to the peace and stability of the region and beyond", a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

Main priorities

Following the election, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said one of the government's main priorities would be managing the risk of global economic uncertainty.

Chalmers pointed to "a huge downside risk in the global economy" amid the worldwide tariffs imposed by the United States.

"I think what's happening particularly between the US and China does cast a dark shadow over the global economy and we're not uniquely impacted by that," Chalmers said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"Global economic uncertainty really is the big influence on my thinking and my work on day one of a second term," he said.

"We need to have the ability and we will have the ability to manage that uncertainty at the same time as we roll out our domestic agenda."

An opinion poll released by Australia's Lowy Institute two weeks before the election showed 36 percent of more than 2,000 respondents from across the country expressing any level of trust in the US to act responsibly, marking a 20-year low.

Eight in 10 respondents disapproved of Washington's use of tariffs to pressure other countries into complying with the administration's objectives, with other US policies related to the international community, such as its withdrawal from the World Health Organization and climate change agreements, receiving similar disapproval.

Saturday's polls saw Albanese's Labor Party increasing its majority through significant swings across the country, taking marginal seats and those that were formerly strongholds of the opposition coalition.

One of those was Dutton's electorate of Dickson in suburban Brisbane, capital of Queensland state — making him the first opposition leader to lose his seat in an election.

Dutton conceded defeat to Albanese and congratulated him on Saturday night.

"We didn't do well enough during this campaign. That much is obvious tonight and I accept full responsibility for that," Dutton told supporters in Brisbane.

"It's a historic occasion for the Labor Party and we recognize that."

Alexis Hooi in Sydney and agencies contributed to this story.