Official results show Labor is expected to win 75 seats \u2014 almost within reach of 76 required for a majority in 151-seat lower house
\n SYDNEY
\nIncoming prime minister Anthony Albanese vowed to end Australia\u2019s reputation as a climate laggard and reset relations with the rest of the world Sunday, as he raced to form a government in time for a key Tokyo summit.
\nFresh from an electoral victory that ended a decade of conservative rule, Albanese signalled an era of fairer, greener and less pugilistic politics for Australia.
\n\u201cI want to change the country,\u201d the 59-year-old centre-left leader said. \u201cI want to change the way that politics operates in this country.\u201d
\nIt is still unclear whether Albanese\u2019s Labor Party will win enough parliamentary seats to form an outright majority, or whether he will have to turn to independents or smaller parties for support.
\nBut \u201cAlbo\u201d and key ministers are expected to be sworn in on Monday to be able to attend a summit with Japanese, Indian and US leaders \u2014 the so-called Quad.
\nAlbanese said the summit was \u201can absolute priority\u201d for Australia and an opportunity \u201cto send a message to the world\u201d.
\nHe said partners overseas can expect wholesale changes \u201cparticularly with regard to climate change and our engagement with the world on those issues\u201d.
\nIn recent years, images of smouldering eucalypt forests, smog-enveloped cities and blanched-out coral reefs have made Australia a poster child for climate-fuelled destruction.
\nUnder conservative leadership, the country \u2014 already one of the world\u2019s largest gas and coal exporters \u2014 has also become synonymous with playing the spoiler at international climate talks.
\nAlbanese has vowed to adopt more ambitious emissions reduction targets and make the sun-kissed continent-nation a renewable energy superpower.
\nAfter the summit and bilateral meetings with US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, Albanese said he would return to Australia on Wednesday.
\n\u201cThen we\u2019ll get down to business,\u201d he said.
\nForeign leaders have already started to welcome Albanese\u2019s election, most notably Australia\u2019s Pacific Island neighbours, whose very existence is threatened by rising sea levels. \u201cOf your many promises to support the Pacific, none is more welcome than your plan to put the climate first \u2014 our people\u2019s shared future depends on it,\u201d said Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama.
\nOthers will be watching closely to see if Albanese\u2019s premiership brings a less hawkish tone on China, and whether ministerial meetings with Beijing resume after more than two years in hiatus.
\nPolitical earthquake
\nOfficial results showed Labor expected to win 75 seats \u2014 almost within reach of the 76 required for a majority in the 151-seat lower house. A handful of other races are still too close to call. But it is already clear that the vote was a political earthquake in Australia. For many Australians, the election was a referendum on polarising outgoing prime minister Scott Morrison.
\nHis tumultuous tenure saw the country smashed by bushfires, droughts, floods and a pandemic, all of which shattered usually happy-go-lucky Australia\u2019s sense of security and their faith in government.
\nMorrison drew revulsion for playing down the role of climate change in Australia\u2019s ever-worsening disasters and insisting \u201cI don\u2019t hold a hose, mate\u201d when asked to justify holidaying overseas during the bushfire crisis.
\n\u201cBeing in Hawaii when half the country is burning to the ground was probably not a wise decision,\u201d said Dean Bergin, a 32-year-old investment fund manager.
\n\u201cAnyone with half a brain can see that. It\u2019s the opposite of leadership.\u201d
\nVoters responded at the ballot box with a sharp rebuke of his Liberal-National coalition \u2014 ousting top ministers from parliament and virtually expelling the party from major cities.
\n\u201cI am very, very happy,\u201d said Kathy Hopkins, a 60-year-old disability support worker in Sydney\u2019s beachside suburb of Clovelly, part of what was considered an ultra-safe conservative seat.
\nLocal voters backed Allegra Spender, one of several independent women candidates, the so-called \u201cteals\u201d \u2014 who ran on pro-environment, anti-corruption and pro-gender equality tickets.
\n\u201cThis is a moment to end the climate wars,\u201d Spender told jubilant supporters on nearby Bondi Beach, promising to push for more integrity in politics and an inclusive economy.
\n\u201cThese are the values that the community has spoken for.\u201d
\nElection wipeout
\nFor Morrison\u2019s conservative allies, the defeat is already spurring a battle for the soul of the party.
\nA leadership contest is informally under way, with moderates blaming the loss on a drift to the right.
\nSpeaking at his Pentecostal church on Sunday, Morrison tearfully told the congregation his time in the top job had \u201cbeen a very difficult walk\u201d.
\n\u201cGod calls us\u201d to duty he said, pausing repeatedly to compose himself.
\nThe 54-year-old then pulled out his phone to conclude his speech with Bible verse.
\n\u201cDo not rejoice over me, enemy of mine. Though I fall, I will rise. Though I live in darkness, the Lord is alive for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Official results show Labor is expected to win 75 seats \u2014 almost within reach of 76 required for a majority in 151-seat lower house SYDNEY Incoming prime minister Anthony Albanese vowed to end Australia\u2019s reputation as a climate laggard and reset relations with the rest of the world Sunday, as he raced to form a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262072,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[423,775],"class_list":{"0":"post-262055","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-overseas"},"yoast_head":"\n