July 12, 2016

The coalition government of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull retained power in elections held on July 2, 2016.
Credit: © Lukas Coch, EPA/Landov

On Sunday, July 10, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declared victory in the country’s recent parliamentary election. Turnbull, who leads a governing coalition of Australia’s Liberal and National parties, made the announcement after opposition leader Bill Shorten, who heads the Labor Party, conceded defeat. More than a week after the July 2 poll, the vote count showed Turnbull’s coalition winning enough seats in the country’s House of Representatives to remain in power. Although some votes are yet to be counted, Turnbull secured enough support from independent legislators and those belonging to smaller parties to form a government even if the coalition does not reach the 76 seats needed to secure a House majority. Preliminary results showed Labor winning at least 66 seats. Turnbull became prime minister in September 2015 after successfully challenging Prime Minister Tony Abbott for the leadership of the Liberal Party. Using a provision of Australia’s Constitution, Turnbull enacted a double dissolution in early 2016—both houses of the federal Parliament were dissolved and fresh elections were called. The election was a sizeable gamble for Turnbull, who had hoped to increase the number of parliamentary seats held by the coalition. However, Turnbull secured a reduced grip on power—at the last federal election in 2013, the coalition won 90 seats to Labor’s 55.

September 14, 2015

In a late night voting session on Monday, the Liberal Party of Australia elected former lawyer and businessman Malcolm Turnbull as its new leader. The Liberal Party is generally conservative on social issues. It favors limited government control over the country’s economy. Turnbull replaced Prime Minister Tony Abbott as the party head, and will soon become prime minister.

Tony Abbott became prime minister of Australia in 2013.

Abbott became prime minister following a 2013 general election. A major focus of his election campaign was to repeal a tax on carbon dioxide emissions introduced in 2012 under Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Abbott argued that the tax, which imposed a fee on greenhouse gas emissions produced by the country’s highest polluting companies, would be bad for the economy and result in higher energy costs. In July 2014, the Australian Parliament repealed the carbon tax.

Abbott worked to expand Australia’s economy. His government signed free trade agreements with China, Japan, and South Korea to increase Australia’s exports of agricultural and other goods.

Abbott’s approval rating fell in 2015, and Turnbull called a party election to challenge for the leadership role. Turnbull accused Abbott of not successfully guiding Australia’s economic policies. Liberal Party members of Parliament voted 54-44 in favor of Turnbull, who had previously led the party from 2008 to 2009.