Voters call for change
Labor has won 75 of the 76 seats it needs to govern in its own right as of Wednesday morning, with four seats still to call.
UPDATED: Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg conceded the loss of Kooyong to teal Independent Monique Ryan on Monday following Labor’s federal election victory.
“Today I rang Dr Monique Ryan to congratulate her on the election result in Kooyong and wished her well for the term ahead,” Frydenberg said.
“It’s been an incredible privilege to have served as the local member for the last 12 years. To the people of Kooyong, I can only say thank you.”
Today, I contacted Dr Monique Ryan to congratulate her on the election result in Kooyong.It’s been an incredible privilege to have served as the local member for the last 12 years. Kooyong, thank you.
Posted by Josh Frydenberg on Sunday, May 22, 2022
According to ABC’s election count, Labor had won 72 of the 76 seats it needs to govern in its own right as of Sunday morning, with the Coalition languishing on just 50.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted his congratulations to Albanese on Sunday night.
“Congratulations to Anthony Albanese upon being elected Prime Minister of Australia. Israel and Australia are close friends and I look forward to working together with @AlboMP to deepen that friendship & strengthen the bond between our nations,” he said.
“I would also like to thank @ScottMorrisonMP for being a good friend and a valuable partner. I wish you all the best.”
In addition to losing a number of seats to Labor, Liberal was also decimated by Independents, with Dave Sharma losing Wentworth to Allegra Spender, Tim Wilson losing Goldstein to Zoe Daniel, Jason Falinksi losing Mackellar and Trent Zimmerman losing North Sydney.
Labor’s Josh Burns was ahead in Mcanamara on Sunday morning, though the seat had not yet been definitely called in his favour.
Frydenberg told supporters in Kooyong on Saturday night, “There’s still thousands of postal votes to count. And so while it’s mathematically possible that we win in Kooyong, it’s definitely difficult.”
And while not conceding defeat, he spoke like a man who saw the writing on the wall.
“Thank you to the people of Kooyong. Thank you to the people of Australia. Thank you to my party and to my colleagues, but most importantly, thank you to my family,” he said.
Paying tribute to wife Amie, who he said “has been the most extraordinary mum”, he said, “And maybe after tonight, I get a bit more time to try and be the most extraordinary dad.
“I’m nothing without my family. They are the most important thing in the world to me. And I will try every single day to be the most important thing in the world to them.”
Sharma spoke of what had been achieved during his term and also paid tribute to his fellow fallen Liberal MPs.
“It’s clear that several, indeed a large number of my colleagues are doing it tough right now,” he said.
“And if we cannot keep them tonight we have to make sure there is a space for their views in the party.”
Spender told her supporters, “It is a victory for the community and what we have achieved together.
“We stand for the future, not for the past … You’ve all invested in the democracy of the country.”
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) congratulated Albanese and Labor on their victory.
“The ECAJ looks forward to working with the new government. Whilst we may not always agree with each other, we anticipate that the relationship will always be based on mutual respect,” the ECAJ said.
The ECAJ also paid tribute to “a number of long-standing friends” of the community who have lost their seat, as well as congratulating those who had been elected to the parliament for the first time.
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said, “Labor has always been a great friend of the Australian Jewish community and an integral part of the bipartisan consensus on Israel. Mr Albanese is committed to the Australia-Israel relationship, and to a negotiated, peaceful and democratic two-state outcome to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
“These are priorities shared by the Australian Jewish community, and we look forward to working closely with Mr Albanese and his government.”
Meanwhile, The Greens looked to have won three additional seats in the House, bringing their total to four.
More to come.
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