The Labor government will hit the ground running by cutting student debt and implementing new environmental laws.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says voters have sent a clear message to those who obstructed the Labor government’s housing agenda during his first term.
At the May 3 election, Green’s housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather, and Coalition Shadow Housing Minister Michael Sukkar both lost their seats.
“They held up emergency housing for women and children escaping violence. They held up our build-to-rent scheme. They held up our Help to Buy scheme,” Albanese told reporters on May 5 in Canberra, in his first press conference after winning the election.
He called on remaining MPs to stop obstructing the government’s plans.
“We have a clear mandate to build more housing. The key is supply. You know, get out of the way and let the private sector build it. That is going to be one of my priorities.”
It took Labor over 300 days to pass their two signature housing bills—the Help to Buy and Build to Rent bills—as they faced repeated delays in the Senate from both the Greens and the Coalition.
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The bills were bounced between the House and various Senate Committees before finally clearing Parliament.
Chandler-Mather conceded defeat in his inner-Brisbane seat of Griffith after Labor picked up gains from a declining Liberal-National Coalition vote across the country.
After preference votes were distributed, Chandler-Mather saw a near 17-point swing to Labor’s Renee Coffey, a first-time candidate who boosted the party’s primary vote by 6 percentage points.
Meanwhile, in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, Sukkar lost his seat in east Melbourne seat of Deakin after a 4 percent swing to Labor’s Matt Gregg.
Immediate Priorities
Among Labor’s first priorities, Albanese said they would tackle the federal environmental laws, and cutting student debt.
“I want a federal EPA that supports industry but also supports sustainability. I think that can be achieved,” the prime minister said.
EPA was shelved in the first term despite nearly passing with the support of the Greens.
It was paused earlier this year following calls from Western Australian (WA) Premier Roger Cook, who warned it could hurt the state’s mining industry ahead of the WA state election.
Albanese, along with Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, confirmed they would move to quickly implement Labor’s flagship policy to cut student debt by 20 percent with taxpayer funds.
The measure is expected to cost $16 billion.
Cabinet Discussions Underway
Pressed on the timing and composition of his new cabinet, Albanese said discussions were underway internally.
“I’ll engage with discussions with my colleagues, rather than at press conferences,” he said.
He praised Labor’s frontbench and caucus talent, saying the election campaign had revealed the strength of his team.
“We have an incredibly talented team on the front bench, but also in the caucus. People are entitled to have ambitions.”
Global Leaders Extend Congratulations
The Prime Minister said he had received a flood of congratulatory messages from global leaders, including Indonesia’s President Prabowo, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, who invited him to attend the G7 Summit in Canada in June—an invitation he accepted.
He also had calls with U.S. President Donald Trump, and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
Albanese took the opportunity to congratulate Wong, calling him “a great friend of Australia” and noting their strong relationship even prior to Wong’s elevation to prime minister.
He is also scheduled to speak with Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 6.
He also said his first foreign trip would be to Indonesia soon.
