Labor claims election victory on disastrous night for Peter Dutton, Coalition; Anthony Albanese to remain prime minister


Labor has stormed to victory in the federal election and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will lead a majority government following a disastrous night for the Coalition and Peter Dutton.

At 8.24pm, less than half an hour after the final polls closed in Western Australia, 9News projected Labor had won the election.

”Nine projects the election is won by Labor,” political editor Charles Croucher said.

Anthony Albanese will be prime minister for another three years, with Labor projected to win the federal election. (Alex Ellinghausen)

“There is no path for the Liberal Party or the Coalition to win. Albo gets a second go and Labor wins the election.”

Barely an hour later, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton took to the stage, conceding both the election and his own seat of Dickson to Labor.

“We didn’t do well enough during this campaign. That much is obvious tonight and I accept full responsibility for that,” Dutton said.

“Earlier on, I called the prime minister to congratulate him on his success tonight. It’s a historic occasion for the Labor Party, and we recognise that.

“I congratulated the prime minister and wished he and (fiancee) Jodie and (son) Nathan all the very best.

“And I said to the prime minister that his mum would be incredibly proud of his achievement tonight, and he should be very proud of what he’s achieved.”

From early on, it was clear the Coalition had no chance of getting the swings needed to pick up the key seats required to form government.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton lost his own seat of Dickson. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

Instead, it was Labor gaining significant swings across the country, from Leichhardt in Far North Queensland to Bennelong in Sydney and Bass in Tasmania.

As of 9.45pm, with 35 per cent of the vote counted, Labor’s primary vote was sitting at 34.31 per cent – a swing of almost 2 per cent towards it.

The Coalition, meanwhile, was languishing at 30.42 per cent, a drop of more than 4 per cent from 2022.

But at the same time, the primary vote for both major parties was low, with more than a third of the country voting for the Greens, independents and other minor parties, although the Greens were at risk of losing their three inner-Brisbane seats.

“The domination between the blue and the red is no more,” Nine national affairs editor Andrew Probyn said.



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