By Kirsty Needham
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was sworn in for a second term on Tuesday, alongside his ministers, after a landslide win at a national election he said had returned the largest centre-left Labor government since federation in 1901.
Albanese’s Labor Party rode a voter backlash against global instability caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies to a come-from-behind victory on May 3.
The opposition conservative Liberal Party, whose leader Peter Dutton lost his seat at the election, selected Sussan Ley as its new leader on Tuesday, a party spokeswoman told reporters.
Ley will become the first woman leader of the federal Liberal Party, which lost city seats in Sydney and Melbourne to women who ran as independent candidates with policies supporting climate change and gender equality in the last two elections.
“Australia spoke very clearly to the Liberal Party,” Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds told reporters on Tuesday after Ley’s win.
The Australian Electoral Commission is yet to finalise vote counting in several seats, although Labor has claimed at least 92 seats out of the 150-seat House of Representatives.
It was the largest Labor caucus since Australia was formed by the federation of six former British colonies in 1901, Albanese said on Monday.
Albanese and his ministers were sworn in at a ceremony at Government House in Canberra, conducted by Governor-General Sam Mostyn.
The key roles of treasurer, foreign affairs, defence and trade are unchanged. In new roles, Michelle Rowland was sworn in as attorney-general, Murray Watt as environment minister, and Tanya Plibersek as social services minister.
Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black said in a statement the ministry showed stability, adding that industry wanted to see reform of environment laws.
“With one in four jobs being trade dependent, it’s crucial that business and government continue to secure new opportunities abroad to grow our economy at a time of geopolitical uncertainty,” said Black.
Albanese will travel to Indonesia on Wednesday, and will attend the inauguration mass of Pope Leo XIV on Sunday in Rome, where he said he would also hold meetings with other leaders including European Union president Ursula von der Leyen to discuss trade.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
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