Australia PM Anthony Albanese wins second three-year term

Labor Party leader becomes the first Australian prime minister to win second consecutive three-year term in two decades.

Anthony Albanese has become the first Australian prime minister to win a second consecutive three-year term in two decades, in a dramatic comeback for his Labor Party in a general election dominated by the cost-of-living crisis.

Albanese’s Labor Party was on track on Saturday for an unexpectedly large parliamentary majority, as Peter Dutton, leader of the conservative Liberal Party, conceded defeat and the loss of his own seat.

In his victory speech, left-leaning Albanese pledged to steer the nation through a rough patch of global uncertainty.

“Australians have chosen to face global challenges the Australian way, looking after each other while building for the future,” he told supporters in Sydney. “We do not need to beg or borrow or copy from anywhere else. We do not seek our inspiration overseas. We find it right here in our values and in our people.”

He said the Australian people have voted for “Australian values”.