PM’s conservatives win tight election

Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared victory for his conservative coalition in last week’s closely fought general election. His comments came after opposition Labour Leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat and congratulated him. Votes are still being counted, but the Liberal-National coalition is expected to win enough seats to govern. However, a strong swing against […]

Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared victory for his conservative coalition in last week’s closely fought general election.
His comments came after opposition Labour Leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat and congratulated him.
Votes are still being counted, but the Liberal-National coalition is expected to win enough seats to govern.
However, a strong swing against it has left doubts about its agenda and Mr Turnbull’s leadership.
The coalition still remains short of the 76 seats it needs to claim a majority in the lower house, the House of Representatives.
At a news conference, Mr Turnbull said: “We have had a successful election. We have secured the largest number of seats in parliament.”
He admitted that the election was “a tough business”, but welcomed Mr Shorten’s calls for “common ground” in parliament.