Tonight, Australia voted decisively for continuity. The Labor government of prime minister Anthony Albanese has not merely been re-elected. It has absolutely thumped the conservative Liberal-National party coalition, headed by Liberal leader Peter Dutton.
At the close of counting tonight, Labor achieved a majority in the 150-seat parliament, winning 77 seats and leading in another five. The coalition has been decimated, reduced from an already-low 55 seats to winning just 29 and leading in another eight. Frontbenchers and talented up-and-comers around the country have been swept away in seats deemed safe.
Worse for the conservatives, Dutton himself has had the ultimate Portillo moment, losing his own constituency having held it for almost 25 years, becoming the first incumbent opposition leader ever to lose his seat in an Australian general election.
Yet, right up until today, nobody expected the political earthquake that has struck Australia tonight. The opinion polls and the smart money thought Labor would struggle to achieve minority government, let alone a majority.
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