Republican wins Australian election: Labor leader Anthony Albanese has previously backed a move to remove Queen as head of state and has vowed to tackle cost of living crisis with more public spending
- Anthony Albanese has replaced Scott Morrison as Australia’s next Prime Minister
- He is republican and previously backed calls to remove Queen as head of state
- Albanese vowed to tackle cost of living crisis in manifesto with public spending
- Labor pledged to spend $7.4billion more than Coalition over next four years
Republican Anthony Albanese has triumphed at the Australian election after he vowed to tackle the cost of living crisis with more public spending.
Albanese has long been a republican who believes the Queen should not be head of state in Australia and previously said the country should hold a national vote on becoming a republic in 2018.
However, the Labor party manifesto did not include any plans for a referendum on republicanism and the party has not announced any plans to do so – meaning the status quo will remain.
Former PM Malcolm Turnbull led a failed republican campaign during a national referendum on the issue in 1999, which was lost with almost 55 per cent of the voting public choosing to remain.
There were jubilant scenes at Labor headquarters in Sydney today after the party won for only the fourth time since World War II.
Albanese will become the 31st Prime Minister of Australia by ending the Coalition’s nine years in power in a bloodbath for Scott Morrison.
Republican Anthony Albanese (Pictured) has triumphed at the Australian election after he vowed to tackle the cost of living crisis with more public spending
There were jubilant scenes at Labor headquarters in Sydney today after the party won for only the fourth time since World War II
Albanese will become the 31st Prime Minister of Australia by ending the Coalition’s nine years in power in a bloodbath for Scott Morrison
Nationally there was a two-party swing of 2.3 per cent from Liberal to Labor with eight Coalition seats looking set to switch to the ALP, including Chisholm and Higgins in Melbourne, Boothby in South Australia, Reid in Sydney and Robertson on the NSW Central Coast.
There was a massive swing against the Liberals in Western Australia with the seats of Swan, Pearce, Hasluck and Tangney turning red.
The independents have won at least three Liberal seats, so far picking up North Sydney, Mackellar and Goldstein and are ahead in several others.
The Greens have won the Brisbane seat of Ryan from the Liberals, with a two per cent boost in their national vote to 12 per cent.
Albanese’s win comes as Labor pledged to spend an extra $7.4billion compared to the Coalition over the next four years if it wins power on Saturday.
The bulk of the difference is due to big spending on childcare, free TAFE, renewable energy and Medicare.
Pictured: Scott Morrison (right) and Jenny Morrison (middle) hug their children after voting at Lilli Pilli Public school in the seat of Cook on Saturday
Labor supporters reacts as they watch the television broadcast during the Labor Party election night event in Sydney
Albanese’s win comes after Labor pledged to spend an extra $7.4billion compared to the Coalition over the next four years if it wins power on Saturday
Over the next four years, Labor’s deficits would add up to $231.9bn, roughly $7.4bn higher than Scott Morrison’s March budget forecast.
Both major parties will take Australia’s debt over $1trillion for the first time ever by 2024.
Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the difference between the parties was ‘modest’ and said Labor’s investments would deliver returns down the track.
‘The modest $7.4 billion difference between the two budgets is made up of key investments in childcare, investments in training and education, and investments in cleaner and cheaper energy,’ he said.
Scott Morrison said $7.4billion was ‘a lot of money’.
‘Labor borrowing more, spending more, it puts pressure on interest rates. It puts pressure on inflation. It drives up the cost of living,’ he said.
‘You can vote for the Liberal-National Party team, vote for a strong economy and avoid the risk of a weaker one under a Labor Party that can’t manage money.’
Labor’s costing document – finally released two days before the election – shows $18.9 billion in new spending offset by $11.5 billion in savings.
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