Australia swears in new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese while votes are still being counted


Australian voters elected to change governments in national elections on Saturday, replacing the center-right Liberal Party with the center-left Labor Party after nine years, and they got their new government less than 48 hours later. Governor-General David Hurley swore in Labor leader Anthony Albanese as Australia's 31st prime minister on Monday, while votes are still being counted to determine if Albanese's party will have a majority in Parliament or need to cobble together a coalition government.
Hurley also swore in four members of Albanese's Cabinet: Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, and economy ministers Katy Gallagher and Jim Chalmers. Wong, born in Malaysia, is the first foreign-born Australian foreign minister; she will travel with Albanese to Tokyo to meet with President Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — the leaders of the so-called Quad nations. Marles will serve as acting prime minister while Albanese is overseas.
With the votes counted so far, Labor has 72 seats, short of a majority in the 151-seat House of Representatives, while the Liberals and their coalition partners won 58 seats. Six races are too close to call, The Associated Press reports. Both major parties lost voters to the Greens, independents, and other smaller parties. Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's decision to resign before the vote count was complete allows Albanese to represent Australia at Tuesday's Quad summit, where China's expansion in the Indo-Pacific region is expected to be the main topic.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 26, 2025
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - ice cold eggs, lax security, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The strange phenomenon of beard transplants
In The Spotlight Inquiries for the procedure have tripled since 2020, according to one clinician, as prospective patients reportedly seek a more 'masculine' look
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: March 26, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Judge: Nazis treated better than Trump deportees
speed read U.S. District Judge James Boasberg reaffirmed his order barring President Donald Trump from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US officials share war plans with journalist in group chat
Speed Read Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal conversation about striking Yemen
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Canada's Mark Carney calls snap election
speed read Voters will go to the polls on April 28 to pick a new government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Musk set to earn billions from Trump administration
Speed Read Musk's company SpaceX will receive billions in federal government contracts in the coming years
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reports: Musk to get briefed on top secret China war plan
Speed Read In a major expansion of Elon Musk's government role, he will be briefed on military plans for potential war with China
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump signs order to end Education Department
Speed Read The move will return education 'back to the states where it belongs,' the president says
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses $175M for Penn over trans athlete
Speed Read The president is withholding federal funds from the University of Pennsylvania because it once allowed a transgender swimmer to compete
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump purports to 'void' Biden pardons
Speed Read Joe Biden's pardons of Jan. 6 committee members are not valid because they were done by autopen, says Trump
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published