Albanese to be sworn in as prime minister on Monday

By DANIEL LO SURDO

Anthony Albanese will be sworn in as the 31st Prime Minister of Australia on Monday with four senior Labor ministers before flying to Tokyo for a Quad leaders meeting on Tuesday.

While it is yet to be confirmed if Labor will be able to form a majority government following Saturday’s election, Albanese will become the prime minister of Australia on Monday after a disastrous night for Scott Morrison and the Coalition, whose losses in Western Australia, as well as to independents and Greens in the eastern states, plunged them to their first election loss since 2013.

In his concession speech, Morrison said that he would be stepping down as the leader of the Liberal Party, meaning that there will be a new Opposition Leader that will face off against Albanese in the House of Representatives.

Albanese to fly to Tokyo as prime minister

Albanese will be sworn in alongside senior Labor Party members Richard Marles, Penny Wong, Jim Chalmers and Katy Gallagher, with all ministerial portfolios to be divided between them before the election results are confirmed. It’s expected that Labor will decide on the full ministry later this month.

With over 60 per cent of votes counted, Albanese – who was called the winner of Grayndler on Saturday night – has recorded over 54 per cent of first preference votes, more than 30 per cent greater than his closest opponent.

In the eastern suburbs, Independent Allegra Spender won the seat of Wentworth from Liberal incumbent Dave Sharma, as one of the many ‘teal’ candidates that enjoyed success against incumbent Coalition members at the polls, including Kylea Tink in North Sydney, Sophie Scamps in Mackellar and Zoe Daniel in Goldstein.

Tanya Plibersek retained her seat in Sydney, as did Labor incumbent Matt Thistlethwaite in Kingsford Smith.