CANBERRA - Bill Shorten conceded Labor’s defeat in the Australian federal election on Saturday evening. He also stepped down as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP).

Before the announcement, chief election analyst of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Antony Green had predicted that the Liberal-National Party Coalition (LNP), led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, would win the election. “Without wanting to hold out any false hope, while there are still millions of votes to count and important seats yet to be finalized, it is obvious that Labor will not be able to form the next government,” said Shorten as ABC live report showed that about 68 percent of the votes were counted. “This has been a tough campaign. Toxic at times. But now that the contest is over, all of us have a responsibility to respect the result, respect the wishes of the Australian people and to bring our nation together,” he said.

“I wish we could have formed a government for these Australians on this evening. I wish we could have won for the true believers, for our brothers and sisters in the mighty trade union movement. I wish we could have done it for Bob,” he added.

Bob Hawke, Shorten’s political hero and the longest-serving Labor PM in history, passed away only two days before Saturday’s election, aged 89.

For Shorten himself, however, the road was bumpy. Chosen to lead the ALP after the party lost the 2013 election in a landslide, he was defeated three years later when Malcolm Turnbull claimed victory.

“I leave the stage tonight but I encourage all Australians, particularly young Australians, never lose faith in the power of individuals to make a difference. Never give up. Never give up aiming for better,” he said.

Speaking in Melbourne, where earlier in the day he said he was “quietly confident” of victory, Shorten said “Labor’s next victory will belong to our next leader and I’m confident that victory will come at the next election.”

For many, Saturday was considered the “unloseable election” for Labor and party leader Bill Shorten, who built his campaign on promising action on climate change and significant investment in healthcare, education and infrastructure.

Morrison, who became Australia’s 30th PM in August 2018 when he was chosen to replace Malcolm Turnbull as leader of the LNP, campaigned on a message of stability, promising fiscal stability and tax cuts across the board.

Every opinion poll suggested that Labor was set for victory on the back of strong swings towards the party in electorates in Victoria and Queensland.

However, the LNP was able to mitigate its losses in Victoria, considered the most progressive state in Australia, while also winning seats from Labor in Queensland. </s> Scott Morrison has swept to victory in a sensational federal election result that defied the polls and cements the Coalition's power.

The Coalition is on track to win government, fending off Labor and Bill Shorten's efforts to take over as prime minister.

As it stands, the Coalition is headed to form a minority government at least, but could still reach the 76 seats needed to form a majority government.

The bombshell triumph comes after repeated polls placed the ALP ahead of the Morrison government, and the Prime Minister's demise appeared assured.

Swings to the Coalition in Queensland turned the election on its head as early figures suggested the Government could hold on.

Election experts said there would be no clear government tonight.

Labor scrutineers told news.com.au older voters have punished the party for its higher-taxing agenda. States where the economy is not thriving - such as Queensland, WA and country areas - have backed the Liberals' agenda focused on the economy and jobs.

"A bold agenda is now dead forever in Australia," a Labor scrutineer says as it became clear the election was turning against Shorten.

As the votes came in confidence began to grown among Liberal surpporters. At the official Liberal Party function in Sydney exuberant young Liberal supporters were heard chanting that the Liberals were "an election winning machine".

"Labor used to be party for the workers, now it's a party for people who don't work," one said.

Although former PM Tony Abbott lost his seat of Warringah to independent Zali Steggall, the Wentworth by-election result was reversed, with Liberal Dave Sharma reclaiming the old seat of Malcolm Turnbull from the woman who defeated him in October, Dr Kerryn Phelps.

But the swing against Labor in Queensland was devastating.

The Australian's columnist Troy Bramston says Labor figures are "stunned and shocked" at the result currently unfolding, which pretty much nobody expected.

"It looks like a diabolical night for the party," Bramston said.

ABC political editor Andrew Probyn says Labor sources are telling him their chances have been "killed" by the Coalition's preference deals with Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and Pauline Hanson's One Nation.

Results then began flowing in from the west.

Labor's Anny Aly has held on in the West Australian seat of Cowan while Patrick Gorman has also retained the seat of Perth.

The Liberal Party was won Swan, with Steve Irons being re-elected.

And Attorney-General Christian Porter has won his tough race in Pearce. Fellow minister Ken Wyatt has held on in Hasluck.

Labor gained Chisolm in Victoria. That's the seat former Liberal Julia Banks held, before deciding to contest Flinders instead. Health Minister Greg Hunt defeated her there.

The Nationals have held Cowper, fending off Rob Oakeshott.

In the days before the eleciton news.com.au's State of the Nation survey placed the Coalition ahead, however, with about 32 per cent saying the Coalition would get their vote, compared to 26 per cent for Labor.

Mr Morrison has also consistently beaten Mr Shorten in the polls as preferred PM, at 58 per cent in the State of the Nation survey compared to 42 per cent for Mr Shorten.

Labor has repeatedly beaten the Coalition in Newspoll surveys, but its leader's approval ratings trailed behind. Last week's poll showed only 38 per cent of respondents thought Mr Shorten would make the better PM to Mr Morrison's 45 per cent, although 51 per cent backed Labor to 49 per cent supporting the Coalition in the two-party preferred vote.

It was a tight race, but the news is a huge blow for Mr Shorten, who had worked hard to rehabilitate his image and appeared to grow in confidence during the campaign. His second election failure is almost certain to spell the end of his leadership, while Mr Morrison will be relieved he has helped the Coalition edge over the line to return for a third term in government.

Mr Morrison's landmark achievement has up-ended almost all commentators' predictions, proving polls and general consensus are not always correct, following a pattern of recent global surprises - including the UK's Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump as US President.

The Prime Minister repeatedly emphasised the Coalition's strength on the economy, promising income tax cuts and lower bills while playing down the threat of climate change.

Mr Morrison was a controversial Immigration Minister under Tony Abbott after the 2013 election, implementing Operation Sovereign Borders before becoming Social Services Minister in a 2014 reshuffle. The MP for Cook in New South Wales was promoted to Treasurer when Malcolm Turnbull became prime minister in 2015, and stepped in as the compromise candidate after a Peter Dutton challenge in August 2018.

But it seems he has been underestimated. After nine months in the job, Mr Morrison has been given the seal of approval by Australia. </s> The Bill Shorten era is over.

Labor will now pick a new leader to take on the returned coalition government.

After losing two elections in a row, Mr Shorten revealed he is stepping down as the party's leader.

Senior frontbencher Anthony Albanese will run for the leadership but other potential contenders include deputy leader Tanya Plibersek and shadow treasurer Chris Bowen.

"While I intend to continue to serve as the member for Maribyrnong, I will not be a candidate in the next Labor leadership ballot," Mr Shorten told the Labor crowd in Melbourne on Saturday night.

Mr Albanese ran against Mr Shorten for the leadership in 2013 after Tony Abbott defeated Kevin Rudd. He won the grassroots vote at the time but did not succeed in getting enough caucus support.

On Saturday night, the NSW MP said the whole Labor team had worked hard.

"As part of that team I must accept, as we must collectively, responsibility for the fact that the many people who rely upon us will be disappointed that the outcome tonight is uncertain," Mr Albanese said.

"But what I am absolutely convinced about, and have been convinced about since I joined our great party when I was still at school, is that this movement is much bigger than any individual."

Mr Bowen, who is from Labor's NSW Right faction, said he would talk to his family before deciding whether to run for the leadership.

A Nine poll taken on Saturday found 50.4 per cent support for Mr Albanese, with 39.2 per cent backing Ms Plibersek and 10.4 per cent in favour of Mr Bowen.

Victorian Labor MP Richard Marles would not say if he would put his hand up for the top job.

The shock election result defied every poll in the lead-up to the election, with Mr Shorten expressing confidence on Friday that he could form a majority government.

Instead Labor lost seats in Tasmania, NSW and Queensland, nullifying the gains the party made in Victoria.

"Labor's next victory will belong to our next leader and I'm confident that victory will come at the next election," Mr Shorten said after conceding defeat. </s> MELBOURNE/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s Liberal-led conservative government was headed for a remarkable victory at the national election early on Sunday after uncovering a narrow path to victory that twisted through urban fringes and rural townships.

The results upended pre-election polls which predicted a Labor victory, though it is unclear whether the Scott Morrison-led coalition can govern with an outright majority or will need to negotiate support from independents.

The final result may not be known for some time.

“I have always believed in miracles,” Morrison told cheering supporters at Sydney’s Wentworth Hotel, where the government holds its official election night function.

“Tonight is not about me or it’s not about even the Liberal party. Tonight is about every single Australian who depends on their government to put them first.”

The conservative government has won or is leading in 72 seats in its quest for a 76-seat majority, according to the Australian Electoral Commission.

Several seats are still too close to call and the final result is complicated by a large number of early votes that have delayed counting.

Morrison’s coalition defied expectations by holding onto a string of outer suburban seats in areas where demographics closest resemble America’s Rust Belt, blocking Labor’s path to victory.

This included a devastating result in the coal-rich state of Queensland, which backed the Pentecostal church-going prime minister by defying expectations and delivering several marginal seats to his government.

Labor leader Bill Shorten said late on Saturday he could not win enough seats to form a government. Speaking to supporters in Melbourne he said he would step down as party leader. </s> Scott Morrison will remain as Prime Minister after an extraordinary night saw the Coalition claim an unexpected election win.

In a result which opinion polls and betting markets failed to predict, the Liberal and the National parties recorded strong swings to them - particularly in Queensland - granting them a possible slim majority or a minority with the support of independents.

The result was called shortly after 9.30pm AEST - as results began to be called in Western Australia.

Labor struggled to pick up enough seats even in Melbourne, in its strongest state Victoria, and has lost electorates in Brisbane, north Queensland, western Sydney and Tasmania.

ABC election analyst Antony Green said Labor had little hope of even forming a minority government, with Labor failing to pick up any marginal seats in Perth.

'At this stage, we think the Morrison Government has been re-elected. We can't see an alternative to a Morrison Government in the numbers we're seeing at the moment,' he said.

'We can't say whether the Government will be in a majority or minority, but we're certainly seeing enough numbers to say that the Coalition will end up with more seats than Labor.'

Mr Green said the result was a 'spectacular failure of opinion polls' with the upset representing the first occasion since 2004 that a federal government has enjoyed a swing towards it.

Former Liberal prime minister John Howard, who won that election, said voters had rejected Labor's 'politics of class division'.

'I did believe very strongly Bill Shorten had overplayed his hand on the class warfare,' he said.

Ironically, the Coalition had not won a Newspoll since 2016 and Labor had won 55 consecutive Newspolls going into the election.

This included a period which saw Malcolm Turnbull replaced in August as prime minister after the Liberal Party's right-faction revolted against his energy policy.

Labor, so far, appears to have only gained the NSW South Coast seat of Gilmore, where the Liberal Party was running former Labor national president Warren Mundine, and possibly Chisholm in Melbourne's south-east where sitting member Julia Banks had quit the Liberal Party to sit as an independent.

It has an outside chance of winning Boothby, in Adelaide's south, with a swing of 3.2 per cent towards it - in a seat the Liberal Party has held since 1949.

Mr Shorten's big-target strategy backfired, with voters rejecting his plans to curb negative gearing tax breaks for investor landlords, deprive share-owning retirees of franking credits and slash carbon emissions by 45 per cent by 2030.

Having now lost two elections, he will most likely to be replaced as Labor leader, six years after he beat left-faction contender Anthony Albanese, even though his opponent had more support from party members in a postal ballot.

'Tonight is an outcome that is disappointing,' Mr Albanese told his supporters in Sydney's inner-west.

His Sydney-based deputy Tanya Plibersek is another possible leadership contender and blamed preferences from One Nation and mining magnate Clive Palmer's United Australia Party for the poor result in Queensland.

'It's not the result we'd hoped for in Queensland,' she told the ABC.

Mr Howard likened Labor's loss to the 1993 'unloseable' election when Liberal leader John Hewson was defeated, campaigning for a 15 per cent GST.

'There was a whiff of 1993 about the last couple of weeks,' he told the ABC.

'One side had been ahead in the polls but the other had gained ground during the campaign.'

On the NSW Central Coast, which had a high number of retirees, the Liberal Party recorded a 4.3 per cent swing to it, boosting sitting member Lucy Wicks' margin to 5.5 per cent.

The Liberal Party, however, has been punished in one of Sydney's wealthiest electorates.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott became the first major casualty of an surprising general election, losing his blue-ribbon seat of Warringah after 25 years in Parliament.

His independent challenger Zali Steggall, a Winter Olympic skiing medalist, has romped home on Sydney's northern beaches in a contest fought over climate change action.

Steggall had an impressive 49.2 per cent of first-preference votes compared to just 35.4 per cent for Mr Abbott, in early counting, representing a mammoth 11.4 per cent swing against the Liberal Party.

'I know I'm going to sound croaky but what a day,' she said, claiming victory.

Taking a dig at her socially-conservative opponent Mr Abbott, she this was 'a win for moderates with a heart.'

'I will be a climate leader for you,' she said. 'I will hold the new government to account and make sure they take action on climate change.'

She paid tribute to the former PM's 'work ethic and contribution to this community'.

Conceding defeat, Mr Abbott said: 'I'd rather be a loser than a quitter.'

He also declared Mr Morrison, who replaced Mr Turnbull as PM in August, would be a Liberal Party legend.

'Scott Morrison will rightly enter the Liberal pantheon forever,' he said.

Former Nationals deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce slammed GetUp! and left-wing activists for targeting Mr Abbott, as the Coalition recorded strong swings to it in Brisbane's outer suburbs and regional Queensland.

'You went after Tony you clowns ... and forgot about everyone else,' he told the ABC.

In Queensland, the Labor Party suffered a 4.4 per cent against it, making it the Opposition's worst state.

Liberal Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has survived and recorded a 3.8 per cent to him in his marginal northern Brisbane seat of Dickson, despite earlier controversy earlier in the campaign where he questioned the living arrangements of his Labor opponent Ali France, who lost a leg in 2011.

He described his win as 'the sweetest victory of all ' - quoting former Labor prime minister Paul Keating's victory speech in 1993, when won the 'unloseable' election.

The Sunshine State was bad for Labor, which was on course to lose neighbouring Longman, in Brisbane's north, with a 4.1 per cent swing to the Liberal National Party.

Herbert, which Labor's Cathy O'Toole won by 37 votes in 2016, was lost, with a seven per cent swing to the LNP.

The Liberal National Party is also recording strong swings to it in its marginal seats of Capricornia, Dawson, Petrie and Forde.

Senior Labor frontbencher Penny Wong acknowledged the areas of Australia north of the Tweed were historically hard for her party to maintain support.

'Queensland's tough for us,' she told the ABC.

NSW Liberal senator Arthur Sinodinos said Prime Minister Scott Morrison was 'straight forward' and popular in the outer suburbs of Brisbane.

'A personifies a certain daggyness people aspire to,' he told the ABC.

Senator Sinodinos said the anti-Adani protests led by a former Greens leader - 'Bob Brown's caravan' - had also hurt Labor in north Queensland.

Tasmania is also punishing the Opposition, with the regional seats of Bass and Braddon going to the Liberal Party with swings of six per cent.

Labor is also suffering double-digit swings against it in in western Sydney, where it looks likely to lose the seat of Lindsay and possibly neighbouring Macquarie.

Liberal Immigration Minister David Coleman has retained the south-west Sydney seat of Banks with a 4.3 per cent swing towards him, boosting his margin to 5.8 per cent in a seat that Labor had held from 1949 to 2013.

This is in stark contrast to an early Nine Network/Galaxy exit poll which showed Bill Shorten would be Australia's next prime minister, with the Opposition ahead of the Coalition 52 to 48 per cent on a two-party preferred basis nationwide.

The poll surveyed 33 electorates across six states and found a swing to the ALP in every state, ranging from 1.1 per cent in Queensland, 3.2 per cent in Victoria and 2.5 per cent in New South Wales.

The exit poll, since proven wrong, had the Coalition's primary vote sinking by three per cent, to 39 per cent, since the 2016 election, which former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull narrowly won.

Labor's first-preference vote has surged by the same margin to 38 per cent, giving it the edge with preferences from the Greens, who had 10 per cent support.

The major parties will need 76 seats to win a parliamentary majority in an expanded 151-seat House of Representatives with early counting showing uneven swings in key marginal seats.

The Nine exit poll of 3000 voters found that health and Medicare were the main issues that influenced their voting, followed by cost of living and climate change.

The Labor Opposition went into the election notionally holding 72 seats, following redistributions, compared with 73 for the Coalition.

His Queensland Liberal National Party could lose Forde, in Brisbane's south, along with Capricornia, centred around Rockhampton, and Flynn, which takes in Gladstone.

The exit poll came as Scott Morrison refused to say whether he will carry on as Liberal Leader should he lose the election.

The Prime Minister addressed the media after kissing his wife Jenny as they cast their ballots in his electorate of Cook, in southern Sydney.

Unlike his confident opponent Mr Shorten this morning, Mr Morrison shied away from predicting the result.

'I make no assumptions about tonight,' the Prime Minister said.

He then refused to comment on whether he would continue as Liberal leader as he stares down the barrel of defeat after serving just nine months as PM.

'As I have said when this question has been put to me before, this election is not about my future. It is about your future. It is about the people of Australia's future,' Mr Morrison said.

'It is about their aspirations, their ambitions. It is not about my aspirations or Bill Shorten's ambition, it is about the Australian people's aspiration and that is what I have focused on.'

Revealing that he voted for himself, he joked: 'I think you can guess how I voted today because I hear the local member is pretty good.'

Mr Morrison thanked supporters and said he would not like to predict the result, adding: 'I make no assumptions about tonight.

'I respect this process. It is dear to my heart, the democracy of our country. I am making no presumptions. I don't take anyone's support in this country for granted.'

The election is being held just two days after the death of Labor's longest-serving prime minister Bob Hawke, who won four elections in 1983, 1984, 1987 and 1990.

Mr Shorten cancelled last-minute campaigning in Brisbane to focus on remembering Mr Hawke at memorial events in Sydney.

The former Australian Workers Union leader this morning said he is so confident of winning the election that he is already planning what he would do on his first day in power.

He gave a short speech outlining his priorities, after casting his vote at Moonee Ponds, in his Melbourne electorate of Maribyrnong and awkwardly eating a democracy sausage.

Should the Opposition Leader prevail tonight, he would become Australia's sixth prime minister since June 2013 - a sharp contrast to an era when Mr Hawke governed for almost nine years through several recessions and implemented far-reaching economic reforms with support from the union movement.

In less than six years, Australia has gone through Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd from the Labor side, and Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and now Mr Morrison from the Liberal Party.

Since 2010, four of them have dumped by their own party, with Mr Shorten playing a pivotal role as a factional powerbroker in the dumping of two Labor PMs.

A victory for Mr Shorten tonight would also make him the first sitting Australian prime minister to have divorced and remarried and the 31st person to occupy the nation's highest office.

His stepchildren Rupert, 17, and Georgette, 16, and his seven-year-old daughter Clementine will be the first blended family to live at The Lodge in Canberra and Kirribilli House on Sydney Harbour.

Should Mr Morrison remain as Liberal Party leader, he would be the first electorally defeated prime minister to take over as Opposition Leader since Gough Whitlam remained as Labor leader in December 1975, following the controversial November 11 Dismissal.

With less than nine months as PM, he is the shortest serving officeholder since Country Party leader John McEwen briefly served in that role in December 1967 and January 1968, following Harold Holt's drowning.

Standing alongside his popular wife Chloe, he declared that his first move would be to make a law raising pay for shift-workers at nights and weekends.

The 52-year-old said: 'In the event that the people of Australia voted for action on climate change, we will be ready to hit the ground from tomorrow. We'll be ready to start straight away and we will start straight away.

'My first cabinet meeting, the first order of business, we will put a submission to the independent umpire to get the wages moving again for millions of our fellow Australians.

'My first legislation will be to reverse the cuts to penalty rates.'

Mr Shorten also explained that tackling climate change is another priority, saying: 'We will convene the parliament as soon as possible to start action on climate change.

A reporter asked Mr Shorten if he would quit politics if he lost the election.

'Let's hold the horses here,' the leader replied. 'I'm confident that Labor can win. Is Mr Morrison staying around? Have you asked him?'

Polls suggest the opposition leader is on track to become prime minister and lead Labor to government for the first time since 2013.

Mr Shorten and his wife Chloe met voters in long queues before casting their ballots on Saturday.

He chomped a sausage sandwich afterwards, partaking in one Australia's great election day traditions.

'Tastes like a mood for change,' he said.

Mr Shorten kicked off his day in trademark fashion, with a morning run around Melbourne wearing a red t-shirt with 'Vote 1 Chloe Shorten's husband'.

He then switched outfits, donning a suit as he made a final pitch to voters on breakfast television.

The Labor leader is expected to spend the day on polling stations around the Victorian capital, considered a key battleground in the election.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is keeping the faith as he stares down a likely election defeat.

All signs suggest the coalition will be sent packing after a narrow Labor win on Saturday night.

'I think it will be a long night. I've always said this election will be close,' Mr Morrison told Sunrise on Network Seven.

'Five weeks ago people weren't saying that, but I've always known it to be the case.'

The final Newspoll of the campaign shows Labor edging ahead of the coalition by 51.5 to 48.5 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

But both sides believe battles in 20 key marginal seats across the country will decide the result.

Mr Morrison spent his election morning in Tasmania where the Coalition was trying to soak up every vote possible to take the marginal seats of Bass and Braddon from Labor.

He then flew to Sydney to cast his own vote in the Sutherland Shire, before campaigning with other MPs in marginal electorates across the city.

The Prime Minister has presented this election as a presidential-style race between himself and Mr Shorten.

Voters will now deliver their verdict on whether his frenetic five-week campaign has been enough to secure the coalition a third term in power.

Mr Morrison spent the final full day of his campaign targeting a clutch of key seats throughout Queensland and NSW.

The Liberals are expecting reasonable results in both of the states, with Victoria and Western Australia firming up as the crucial battlegrounds. </s> Bill Shorten is entering election day bullish about claiming a historic election victory for the Labor Party.

The opposition leader is expected to launch a blitz of seats in the key battleground of Victoria as the clock ticks down on polls closing on Saturday evening.

The final Newspoll of the campaign has Labor ahead of the coalition 51.5 to 48.5 on a two-party preferred basis.

"I'm confident Labor will win tomorrow because we've got a positive plan for real change, to stop the chaos," Bill Shorten told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.

He also criticised Scott Morrison for raising the prospect of a minority coalition government.

"A prime minister who says vote for him and he'll give you a minority government and three more years of chaos - that's not what Australia needs at this time in our history."

Labor is on track to record a narrow victory, making Mr Shorten the fourth party leader to win government from opposition since World War II.

Mr Shorten spent Friday paying tribute to Labor legend Bob Hawke, who died on Thursday, aged 89.

He shared a beer with Labor Premier Daniel Andrews and one of his predecessors Steve Bracks.

The final day of campaigning was tinged with sadness, with electioneering pared back as a mark of respect for Mr Hawke.

Mr Shorten said Mr Hawke was an inspiration before he became a friend.

"It's sad to me that I can't show him that we can win and form a government because I'd feel I'd be fulfilling a contract that I mentally made with him all those years ago," he said.

Labor is hopeful of making inroads in Melbourne after thrashing the Liberals at last year's state election.

With the election on a knife's edge, the size of the swing in Victoria could be crucial in deciding who will be prime minister after Saturday. </s> SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has celebrated election victory while the opposition leader conceded an unexpected defeat.

Morrison thanked “quiet Australians” for delivering his party a “miracle” election victory in Saturday’s election.

“I have always believed in miracles!” Morrison told a room filled with happy supporters of the Liberal Party, adding, “How good is Australia?”

Initial vote counts indicate that Morrison’s coalition government is to remain in power. With half the votes counted on Saturday, it is unclear whether Morrison’s party can govern with an outright majority.

The rest of the ballots are to be counted this weekend.

Pre-election polls, however, had indicated that the Labor Party was set to win the elections.

However, the center-left party suffered a shock defeat in national polls.

The leader of the party, Bill Shorten, conceded defeat late Saturday, saying that the Labor Party would not be able to form government

He announced that he had decided that he would resign from his post as party leader.

“And without wanting to hold out any false hope … it is obvious that Labor will not be able to form the next government,” Shorten said.

Surveys showed that the economy, cost of living, environment and health were central concerns for voters, while younger people in particular voiced frustration about climate change and a lack of affordable housing. Morrison campaigned primarily on economic issues, often doing so alone while painting the election as a choice between himself and Shorten.Shorten promised to cut tax breaks for the wealthy and to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

There were fierce debates about the rolling leadership turmoil, formal recognition of indigenous Australians, and the treatment of female MPs in parliament.

“I think people have become afraid after a very negative campaign,” Labor supporter Julie Nelson said at the party’s Melbourne election night function. “They [the Liberals] managed to convince people they should be afraid of change.” </s> news, national

A disappointed Bill Shorten has conceded defeat in Saturday's federal election and announced he will stand down as Labor leader. "I wish we could have formed a government for these Australians on this evening," he told supporters at the Labor function in Melbourne. "I wish we could have won for the true believers, for our brothers and sisters in the mighty trade union movement. "I wish we could have done it for Bob," he said, referring to former prime minister Bob Hawke who died last Thursday. Mr Shorten, with his wife by his side, said he would remain as the member for Maribyrnong but would not be a candidate in the next Labor leadership ballot. "Labor's next victory will belong to our next leader and I'm confident that victory will come at the next election," he said. He said he had called Scott Morrison to congratulate him on a win for the coalition, conceding Labor did not have the seats to win. Labor had picked up only 65 so far of the 76 needed to form a majority government, while the coalition was sitting on 74. "Without wanting to hold out any false hope, while there are still million of votes to count, it is obvious Labor will not be able to form the next government," he told Labor supporters. He wished Mr Morrison and his family well. "Above all, I wished Scott Morrison good fortune and good courage in the service of our great nation," he said. "The national interest required no less." He urged Labor supporters to continue the fight. "We cannot change the past but my word we can change the future." Australian Associated Press

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-feed-data/73609dc0-d4bf-481c-bd6c-c7624eb6ff02.jpg/r0_74_800_526_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg </s> Australian opposition leader Bill Shorten has conceded defeat to Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the country’s general election.

Mr Shorten made the announcement to supporters of his opposition Labour Party late on Saturday night in Melbourne.

He said: “It is obvious that Labour will not be able to form the next government and so, in the national interest, a short while ago, I called Scott Morrison to congratulate him.”

Poll forecasts give 74 seats in the 151-seat lower parliamentary house to Mr Morrison’s conservative Liberal-National party coalition, with 65 seats to Labour and 12 undecided.

The Channel 9 network gave 73 seats to the coalition, 61 to Labour, with 17 undecided.

A total of 76 seats are needed to form a majority government.
Despite opinion polls predicting a Labor victory, the Labor Party loses several seats, with support in the key state of Queensland far lower than expected. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten concedes defeat and steps down as party leader.