Broadcasters Sky News Australia and Seven projected that the
conservative Liberal and National coalition could not win government, based on
early counting, while the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's election
analyst Antony Green said Labor had won.
Cost-of-living pressures and concerns about President Donald
Trump's volatile policies had been among the top issues on voters’ minds.
Defence Minister Richard Marles told broadcaster Seven that
early results were encouraging and Labor regaining majority government
"remains a possibility and it is what we are trying to achieve".
Polls closed at 0800 GMT in Australia's most populous Eastern
Time zone while voting in Western Australia, home to the city of Perth, will
end at 1000 GMT.
Opinion polls had shown Labor ahead, after trailing in the
polls as recently as February to Peter Dutton's conservative coalition.
As counting got under way, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the
Labor government had been "in all sorts of trouble" at the end of
2024 but got back into the contest because of Albanese's strong campaign
performance, policies that addressed concerns about the cost of living, and the
Trump Effect.
"The economy became a positive from a negative - the
interest rate cut was part of the story," he told the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation.
The central bank cut rates in February, on the eve of the
election being called, reversing course after 13 interest rate rises that had
ratcheted up home mortgage repayments for households.
"The sense of the influence of American politics"
had also helped, he added.
Opposition Liberal Party spokesman, Senator James Paterson,
defended the conservative campaign, which he also said was negatively affected
by "the Trump factor".
