CANBERRA: Australia’s Labour Party leader, Anthony Albanese, was sworn in as the country’s 31st prime minister on Monday, promising to bring the country together after a fractious election campaign as he vowed to tackle climate change and inequality.
Labour returned to power after nine years in opposition as a wave of unprecedented support for the Greens and climate-focussed independents, mostly women, helped end nearly a decade of rule by the conservative coalition in Saturday’s general election.
“I look forward to leading a government that makes Australians proud, a government that doesn’t seek to divide, that doesn’t seek to have wedges but seeks to bring people together,” Albanese said during his first media briefing after taking charge as the prime minister.
Although votes are still being counted and the makeup of government has yet to be finalised, Albanese was sworn in by Governor-General David Hurley at a ceremony in the national capital, Canberra so he could attend a key meeting of the “Quad” security grouping in Tokyo on Tuesday.
India, United States, Japan and Australia are members of the Quad, an informal group that Washington has been promoting to work as a potential bulwark against China’s increasing political, commercial and military activity in the Indo-Pacific.
Today I am heading to Japan for the Quad Leaders’ Summit along with Foreign Minister @SenatorWong.
I am honoured to represent Australia at this important forum.
I look forward to meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida, US President Biden and Indian Prime Minister Modi. pic.twitter.com/7X1AsPNeFS
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) May 23, 2022
Albanese said the country’s relationship with China would remain “a difficult one” ahead of the summit with US President Joe Biden and the prime ministers of Japan and India.
Deputy Labour leader Richard Marles and three key ministers – Penny Wong in foreign affairs, Jim Chalmers as treasurer and Katy Gallagher in finance – were also sworn in, with Wong to join Albanese on the Quad trip.
Labour’s campaign heavily spotlighted Albanese’s working-class credentials – a boy raised in public housing by a single mother on a disability pension – and his image as a pragmatic unifier.
Centre-left Labour still remains four seats short of a majority of 76 in the 151-seat lower house, with about a dozen races too close to call, according to television channels. Independents or Green party looked set to win at least 15 seats. So-called “teal independents” campaigning in affluent, Liberal-held seats on a platform of climate, integrity and equality, could hold significant sway.
Albanese said he hoped Labour would get enough seats to govern on their own but added he had struck deals with some independents in which they would not support no-confidence motions against his government.
The swearing-in of the full ministry will happen on June 1, he said. Official results could be several days away, with the counting of a record 2.7 million postal votes under way.
