What You Need To Know:
- The Coalition has been re-elected with a majority government
- Labor MPs are putting themselves forward to take over as party leader following Bill Shorten's decision to stand down after the surprise election result
- Anthony Albanese is the current front runner after deputy leader Tanya Plibersek announced she would not be entering the race
- The Senate count is still being conducted but Fraser Anning, Clive Palmer and Lyle Shelton all failed to get elected
- No party has a majority in the upper house, with the Greens holding all of its nine seats
- Attention has turned to what the Coalition, and Scott Morrison, will deliver in a third term of government
Well, well, well — that was a bit of a surprise, wasn't it.
Not exactly what all the polls and media commentary had been saying, or the betting agency that paid out early on a Labor victory and lost millions of dollars.
Now the dust has settled, let's take a look at the state of play as the final few results trickle in and we have a much clearer picture of what happened:
The Coalition is predicted to return with a majority government after securing at least 77 seats in the House of Representatives.
Coalition to form majority Government with at least 77 seats https://t.co/pBb9qJuuwH
Boothby in South Australia has been retained by the Coalition.
Liberal Nicolle Flint wins SA marginal seat of Boothby https://t.co/ffHVKgL73y
And Labor looks set to lose Bass and Chisholm.
Wentworth, which was Malcolm Turnbull's old seat, has returned to the Liberals with independent MP Kerryn Phelps conceding to Dave Sharma.
The ABC's election analyst Antony Green says the Coalition will win at least 77 seats, with a 78th (Macquarie) still too close to call.
Much has been made of the fact Labor's primary vote dropped dramatically in Queensland, with the Coalition also performing better than expected in Tasmania. You can read more about the Queensland result here, and what went wrong with Labor's campaign here.
Up in the Senate, the Greens performed better than some expected and look set to return with nine senators.
Neither of the main parties will have a majority in the upper house, meaning negotiation with the crossbench will be required to get any legislation through the parliament.
That crossbench looks set to include the nine Greens, two Centre Alliance, two One Nation, one Australian Conservatives (Cory Bernardi) and Jacqui Lambie.
Far-right politician Fraser Anning failed to be re-elected. In the words of Green on election night: "He goes back to where he came from because he won't come back to the parliament."
Clive Palmer and Lyle Shelton also failed to be elected.
Derryn Hinch will not be returning.
My chances of being re-elected, as the Justice Party senator for Victoria, are slim. It seems that Bill wasn’t the only one to get the Shorten end of the stick.
Palmer, who spent around $60 million on advertising during the election and won zero seats, boasted he had saved Australia "from a trillion dollars of extra taxes and costs".
.@CliveFPalmer takes credit for a Coalition election win: "I've saved Australia from an extra trillion dollars of taxes". Live coverage now on @Channel7 and streaming at https://t.co/b3nAU1J7dw #ausvotes #7NEWS
His relentless adverts during the campaign had predicted his United Australia Party would "win government".
Full page ad in the Oz. “Men and Women of Australia. The United Australia Party is on track to win government at the next federal election. Australians should not read or believe fake news.” #AusVotes19 #auspol #ausvotes
Lambie had a strong message for Morrison and the Coalition.
"But you know what? Drop the attitude!" - @JacquiLambie has a message for @ScottMorrisonMP tonight #ausvotes:
Today the focus remains on how the opinion polls got it so wrong, with American polling guru Nate Silver declaring it's all the media's fault.
1. The polling error was quite minor and the perception to the contrary mostly reflects the combination of the media's innumeracy and its cosmopolitan bias. 2. Prediction markets are dumb. https://t.co/63RWy32sbw
And with Bill Shorten announcing he will stand down as Labor leader, talk has turned to who will become the new opposition leader. Anthony Albanese has already put his hand up.
On Sunday, Tanya Plibersek hinted she might run, saying: "I am certainly considering it. I'll talk to my colleagues today but of course I'm considering it."
But on Monday she released a statement saying "now is not my time".
"I am very grateful for the support I have received from my colleagues, from party members and others, urging me to run for the Labor leadership," Plibersek said.
"I have support, from across the party, to be elected leader.
"I am overwhelmed by the confidence my colleagues, the union movement, and Labor party members have placed in me.
"I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their support.
"But now is not my time.
"At this point, I cannot reconcile the important responsibilities I have to my family with the additional responsibilities of the Labor leadership.
"I know some people will be disappointed with this decision.
"I intend to continue as deputy leader until the leadership is determined.
"At that point I will I serve in whatever capacity my colleagues best think can help Labor return to government."
Morrison has received messages of support from around the world...
Congratulations to Scott on a GREAT WIN! https://t.co/IKxDrQmHfV
...congratulating him on his "personal victory".
Congratulations @ScottMorrisonMP on an outstanding personal victory. Australians have once again backed the Coalition to deliver a strong economy, more jobs & lower taxes.
Some of the front pages were ecstatic at his victory. The Australian declared Morrison the "Messiah from The Shire".
Front page of Monday’s The Australian. #auspol
Morrison promised significantly less than Labor during the campaign but is expected to focus on the promised tax cuts in the early days of the 46th parliament, and also reassess the medevac legislation, which the government so vehemently opposed.
Speaking to Alan Jones on 2GB this morning, Morrison said Australians didn't want politics in their face: "We've got to disagree better."
"They've had their say, they've made their decision. Now they expect us to get on with it so they can get on with their lives. "That's what the quiet Australians have said and I'm going to honour that." https://t.co/giwIOXSXJh
Climate change was one of the main debates during the campaign and Jones asked the PM if he was going to make a commitment to coal-fired power.
"Well Alan, we set out all our energy policies at the election and that's what I'm going to do. It included a continuation of coal-fired power as part of the base-load power in Australia. It also included hydro, gas, all of these, all around the country. So there's no change to our policies there, what I took to the election is what I'm going to do," Morrison said.
Morrison said not many people thought a Coalition victory was possible eight months ago, when he took over as prime minister, and that Jones had predicted the victory (and educated him on Winx, a horse, that was mentioned far too many times in the election).
On the result, Morrison said: “They’ve had their say, they’ve made their decision. Now they expect us to get on with it so they can get on with their lives.
“That’s what the quiet Australians have said and I’m going to honour that.”
In conclusion:
It's May 20, 2019 at 10:00AM and the current Australian Prime Minister is Scott Morrison.