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 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> What happened? Labor supporters gathered at the Hyatt Place hotel at Essendon Fields for a celebration, a victory party. They were nervous, but quietly confident. As the night wore on, it turned into a wake, heads in hands, confused faces.

At 6.30pm, Andrew Philippou, 62, was clutching a spreadsheet of the lower house seats. He’d worked it out, ticked off Labor wins, and predicted the ALP would win at least 80, a comfortable victory. “Easy,” he said. He wasn’t over-confident, but he was smiling. “Let’s see how we go.”

By 9pm, Philippou was still clutching his piece of paper. “I am gutted.”

“Greed wins over hope. People didn’t want to lose their franking credits, people didn’t want to lose negative gearing. People didn’t want to share their wealth with anyone else.”

It was too early for sober analysis, but Bill Shorten, when he finally appeared on stage at 11.35pm, tried to make sense of it. He looked weary, disappointed, but he spoke with grace, his voice often inflecting downwards, almost like a sermon.

“I know that you are all hurting, and I am too,” he said, holding the lectern with both hands, his wife Chloe by his side. Labor could not win majority government – “Shame! Shame!” roared the crowd – and so in the national interest he had conceded to Scott Morrison. He would not be standing to be leader of the Labor party again.

“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 wished Labor had won for Australians who counted on a reforming government. He wished it had won for the trade union movement.

“I wish we could have done it for Bob [Hawke], but it was not to be. Labor’s next victory will belong to our next leader and I am confident that victory will come at the next election.”

For the hundreds here, this was a bewildering night. Supporters believed Labor would win after six years in opposition. Opinion polls and most political observers consistently predicted a Labor victory, either narrow or comprehensive.

The “pathway” to victory for the Coalition was supposed to be too narrow. The progressive state of Victoria would be crucial, overcoming possible losses in Queensland. This was the climate change election, wasn’t it? This was about generational change. This was the election which would usher in a new active purpose for government.

None of that happened, and understanding why will take weeks to work out. For the Labor faithful, the first emotions were raw. “What happened?” said Tiani Rutledge-Wilkes, an interior designer, who said she had no idea what had gone wrong. She thought the ALP would win, and had her nails painted “Labor red” for the occasion. “What have we misread?”

“It’s just not the polls [that got it wrong], but all the experts.”

Tim Wilkes, who works in banking, chimed in. In Victoria, “they had their protest vote with the Victorian election, and we have moved on. The instability issue hasn’t come through.”

This was a crushing loss. Labor believed it had proved itself worthy after the instability of the Rudd-Gillard years. They were united. They had done the policy work, and had been honest with the Australian people about their redistributive agenda. They knew it was risky for an opposition to outline such an ambitious program, but it was bold and the times would suit Labor. The government was hopeless and riven by ideological division, they thought. The people in the room felt good about their party and somehow betrayed by the result.

There were moments of joy, a big cheer when the ABC announced that Tony Abbott had lost Warringah to the independent Zali Steggall. “You’re gone!” they shouted. They enjoyed booing Peter Dutton, who held his seat of Dickson in Queensland. But the carthartic moments were rare. There was a small swing in Victoria, about 1.7%, but not enough to win the seats expected. By 11pm, Labor had picked up just a single seat, Gilmore in NSW. It won Corangamite and Dunkley in Victoria, but redistributions had already made them notionally Labor.

Labor’s primary vote in Queensland was around 26%. Devastating.

At 9.02pm, the ABC’s Antony Green was saying on the big screen that it was “very hard for Labor to possibly win government from here”. It would be a Coalition victory or perhaps a minority Coalition government. The people in the room weren’t quite ready to give up, still hoping that perhaps Labor could form a minority government.

No one wanted to criticise Shorten too harshly, not now. One state MP mused that this was like 1993, when John Hewson lost the “unloseable” election for the Coalition. Others said the country was now hopelessly divided, and wondered whether issues such as climate change had the power they believed it had.

Philippou said this election was “a win for the Murdoch media, they will be sipping champagne”. But there was little bitterness. He was willing to say that Shorten reminded him of former Victorian leader John Brumby, a competent minister with policy strength, but who did not win an election.

Shorten’s personal unpopularity has dogged the leader for his six years in the job. “He didn’t have the x-factor, and Shorten lacks the x-factor. He doesn’t have that warmth. Morrison has the salesman approach, he knows how to work a room.

“The issue now is, who have we got?”

That will be for another day. As for Shorten, never a great orator, he left the stage without rancour. At the 2016 election, Labor’s election party was joyous, even though they didn’t win. Shorten performed much better than expected, and the party could taste victory next time. In 2019, Shorten was expected to win, and did not. Politics is harsh, and Shorten said he could look himself in the eye and know he did all he could.

“I am not disappointed for me,” he said. “I’m proud we argued for what was right, not what was easy.” </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> 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> Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced the date of the next federal election.

Mr Morrison announced on Thursday the election will be held on May 18, after meeting with Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove to dissolve the Parliament.

'Earlier this morning, I visited the Governor-General here in Canberra and he accepted my advice for an election to be held on 18 May,' Mr Morrison said.

The conservative coalition is seeking a third three-year term. But Mr Morrison is the third Prime Minister to lead a divided government in that time and only took the helm in late August.

Opinion polls suggest his reign will become one of the shortest in the 118-year history of Australian Prime Ministers on election day.

The polls suggest center-left opposition leader Bill Shorten will become the eighth Prime Minister since the country plunged into an extraordinary period of political instability in 2007.

In announcing the date of the election, Mr Morrison said Australia was the 'best country in the world'.

'But to secure your future, the road ahead depends on a strong economy. And that's why there is so much at stake at at this election,' he said.

'It's a choice between a government that I lead and the alternative of a Labor government led by Bill Shorten.

'I believe in a fair go for those who have a go.'

Mr Morrison said voters could be assured he would see out his term as Prime Minister should he be elected despite the leadership spill that saw him replace Malcolm Turnbull last year.

'We changed the rules in the Liberal party... those rules say that at the next election on May 18, if the Liberal-National Government is returned, if I'm re-elected as Prime Minister, then I will serve as Prime Minister because the rules have been changed to prevent the things that happened in the past,' he said.

The election pits Shorten, a former labor union leader who has presented himself as the alternative prime minister for the past six years, and Morrison, a leader who the Australian public is still getting to know.

Australians face the starkest policy choice in a generation with an election to be held in just five weeks.

Mr Shorten is odds-on favourite to be Australia's next prime minister, despite the government campaigning strongly against his renewable energy and negative gearing policies to help younger people afford a home.

Betting agency Sportsbet is predicting the biggest federal Labor majority in 76 years, in an election where four Liberal ministers would lose their seat.

More than 16.2million voters are heading to the polls in five weeks in an election which could see a government voted out of office for only the eighth time since World War II.

Mr Morrison arrived at Government House in Canberra on Thursday morning to speak to Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove about dissolving Parliament.

Mr Shorten told Daily Mail Australia last month his policy agenda was the most ambitious since Gough Whitlam won the 1972 election by campaigning on the theme, 'It's Time.'

His Labor Party is vowing to have Australia source 50 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.

Labor also wants half of all vehicles sold in Australia within 11 years to be electric or hybrid cars, a very dramatic increase from the 0.2 per cent market share they have now.

The Opposition also wants to slash carbon emissions by 45 per cent by 2030.

Labor's plan is much more ambitious than the Coalition's goal of a 28 per cent reduction in carbon pollution over the same time frame.

The Opposition is also vowing to scrap negative gearing tax breaks for future purchases of existing property, so fewer investors are competing with younger Australians wanting to buy their first home.

Labor has promised to stop wealthy retirees, who don't pay income tax, from getting tax refunds for when they receive share dividends.

The Opposition says its winding back of negative gearing and its tax crackdowns on shareholders will save $80billion over the next decade.

The government, which lacks a parliamentary majority, is opposed to both of these policies and has been campaigning fiercely for the Baby Boomer vote.

Mr Morrison, who became PM in August, will call a May election, days after his Treasurer Josh Frydenberg delivered a Budget giving annual tax cuts of up to $1,080 for 10 million Australian workers earning up to $126,000 a year.

Mr Shorten has vowed to match the tax cuts and give even more to lower income earners on less than $40,000 a year, who were promised $255 a year in the Budget.

His Budget-reply speech also offered a $2.3 billion policy whereby the Commonwealth would pay the medical bills of cancer sufferers - five years after the Opposition Leader's mother Ann died of breast cancer.

The Liberal-National party Coalition has last week unveiled the first Budget surplus in 12 years - something a federal Labor government hasn't delivered since 1989 when Bob Hawke was prime minister.

The government, however, is plagued with disunity, having disposed Tony Abbott in September 2015 before right-wing forces brought down his prime ministerial successor Malcolm Turnbull in August 2018.

Both major parties are committed to sending asylum seekers to offshore processing centres at Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

Labor, however, is open about them being allowed to move to New Zealand, following an offer from Kiwi Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

When Labor was last in government former prime minister Kevin Rudd in 2008 dismantled the Pacific solution.

This led to a surge in boat arrivals, rising from just three in the 2007-08 financial year, to 117 in 2009-10.

Or put another way, the number of asylum seekers surged from 25 to 5,327, figures from a Parliament House research paper showed.

The policy change also coincided with the deaths of 48 people, mainly asylum seekers from Iran and Iraq, as their boat sunk and washed on to cliffs at Christmas Island in December 2010.

The Coalition has now lost 50 Newspolls in a row to Labor, trailing the Opposition 46 to 54 per cent after preferences.

If replicated at the election, the government would suffer a 4.4 per cent swing against it causing the Liberal and National parties to lose 12 seats.

Betting agency Sportsbet, however, has Labor picking up 23 seats from the Coalition, which would see its seat numbers swell to 93 in the expanded 151-member House of Representatives.

The Liberal and National parties would see their seat tally plummet from 75 now to 53, marking the worst electoral drubbing for the conservative side of politics since 1943.

This would give Mr Shorten the biggest federal election majority since March 1996, when John Howard's Liberal-National Coalition defeated Paul Keating's Labor Party in a landslide.

It would also mark the biggest Labor majority since John Curtin was prime minister during World War II.

Mr Shorten is on course to be the first prime minister since 1914 to have won an election after taking over as Opposition Leader from the time his party was defeated at the polls.

Sportsbet predicted ministers Peter Dutton, Christian Porter, David Coleman and Ken Wyatt would lose their seats.

The betting agency is predicting the Liberal Party will lose to Labor the seat of Boothby, in Adelaide's southern suburbs, which it has held since 1949.

It also had former independent Rob Oakeshott as the short-priced favourite to pick up Cowper, on the New South Wales Mid-North Coast, from the Nationals, where former minister Luke Hartsuyker is retiring.

But the betting market had the Liberal Party winning back former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull's old seat of Wentworth, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, as another former PM Tony Abbott narrowly held on to his nearby electorate of Warringah.

Veteran election analyst Malcolm Mackerras was less optimistic about Mr Shorten's chances of a Labor landslide, predicting it will win 83 seats, up from the 69 it won in 2016, and factoring in an electoral redistribution in two Liberal-held seats in Victoria.

'I think he's performing very well,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

The Coalition, under his scenario, would see its seat tally drop from 75 to 64, as the Liberal Party regained the northern Victorian electorate of Indi, where independent Cathy McGowan is retiring.

Mr Turnbull's old seat of Wentworth could also be another Liberal gain, as Dave Sharma defeated independent Dr Kerryn Phelps, who won an October by-election and pushed the government into minority territory.

Mr Turnbull's arch nemesis Mr Abbott was tipped to lose his Sydney northern beaches electorate of Warringah to winter Olympian Zali Steggall, with Sportsbet and opinion polls showing a close contest.

'I think Sharma has a slightly better chance of winning Wentworth than Abbott has of retaining Warringah,' Mr Mackerras said.

'Dave Sharma is thought to be a very good candidate who belongs to basically the moderate side of the party.

'More particularly, people put Kerryn Phelps in to express their anger about the Liberal Party sacking Turnbull. Now that anger's over, they'll say, 'Well, Sharma's a good candidate'.'

Mr Mackerras saw Attorney-General Christian Porter losing his Perth-based seat of Pearce, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton losing his Brisbane electorate of Dickson and Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt losing his eastern Perth electorate of Hasluck.

Mr Mackerras, an honorary fellow with the Australian Catholic University, however, predicted Immigration Minister David Coleman would hold his marginal south-west Sydney seat of Banks, despite its narrow 1.4 per cent margin.

It overlaps with the state seats of East Hills and Oatley, which recorded swings to the Liberal Party at the March state election.

Mr Mackerras said while Mr Morrison wasn't particularly popular across Australia, his Liberal Party had stronger support in that part of Sydney, which for six decades had supported Labor at a state and federal level.

'I think in southern Sydney, he's doing very well which is part of the reason why I think Banks will stay with the Liberal Party,' he said.

'Apart from that, I just don't think people think much of him.

'He doesn't come across to me as being at all competent.

'He certainly doesn't come across as deserving to be Prime Minister.'

He also predicted the Nationals would keep their most marginal seat of Capricornia, in central Queensland, despite assistant minister Michelle Landry holding it by a very slim 0.6 per cent margin.

Dawson, in north Queensland, would also stay with the Nationals , with renegade backbencher George Christensen campaigning for the government to fund a coal-fired power station.

'Areas that are near to possible new coal mines stay will stay with the Nationals,' Mr Mackerras said.

'They're close enough to the Bowen Basin developments.'

Even before the election begins, electorate distributions in the Liberal-held Victorian seats of Corangamite and Dunkley already favour Labor, which means sitting government members Sarah Henderson and Chris Crewther will need to increase their vote to keep their jobs.

Betting agency Sportsbet has Labor picking up 23 new seats from the Coalition. This would see Labor end up with 93 seats out of 151, giving it 61.6 per cent of seats in an expanded House of Representatives. This would be Labor's biggest majority haul of seats, in percentage terms, since 1943 when John Curtin was wartime prime minister. This would also be a bigger win than Bob Hawke's 1983 victory and Kevin Rudd's 2007 defeat of John Howard. It would mark the biggest landslide since 1996, when John Howard's Liberal-National Coalition defeated Paul Keating's Labor Party, which had been in power for 13 years. The Coalition's seat tally would plummet from 75 now to 53, marking its worst defeat in 76 years, before the Liberal Party was founded. Were the betting predictions to materialise, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton would lose his Brisbane seat of Dickson while Attorney-General Christian Porter would be defeated in his Perth seat of Pearce. Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt, the first indigenous member of the House of Representatives, would also lose his eastern Perth seat of Hasluck while Immigration Minister David Coleman would lose his south-west Sydney seat of Banks. Former prime minister Tony Abbott is also in danger in his Sydney northern beaches seat of Warringah, against independent challenger and Winter Olympic champion Zali Steggall, although he is narrowly favoured to stay in Parliament. Former independent Rob Oakeshott is the favourite to claim the New South Wales Mid-North Coast seat of Cowper from the Nationals, where former minister Luke Hartsuyker is retiring. The Liberal Party could regain the northern Victorian seat of Indi, following the retirement of independent Cathy McGowan. Dave Sharma also has short odds of regaining former PM Malcolm Turnbull's seat of Wentworth, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, which former Australian Medical Association president Dr Kerryn Phelps won as an independent in an October 2018 by-election. Were Sportsbet's scenarios to materialise, Mr Oakeshott would be one of five crossbenchers in the lower house, along with Greens MP Adam Bandt, Centre Alliance's Rebekha Sharkie, maverick Bob Katter and independent Andrew Wilkie. </s> Australia has compulsory voting and a complex system of ballots ranked by voter preference. The political, economic and cultural differences varies from state to state on the vast island-continent

Melbourne: Australia's ruling Conservative Coalition led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday made a "miraculous" comeback in the general election, defying exit polls and devastating the opposition Labor Party, forcing its leader Bill Shorten to step down.

Around 16 million Australians swarmed to the polling booths across the country on Saturday to elect the nation's 31st prime minister, in what was widely referred to as the climate-change election. The latest results showed that the Conservative Coalition has won 74 seats while labour secured 66.

A party needs 76 seats for a simple majority in the 151-member House of Representatives. It was not clear if 51-year-old Morrison will require the support of independent MPs to govern. But an independent, Helen Haines, who won from the seat of Indi, said that she would be working with the Coalition in the scenario of a hung parliament. Haines said she was very determined to work with the government on addressing climate change.

Morrison along his wife Jenny visited a church in Sydney's Sutherland Shire on Sunday in his electorate of Cook where he thanked his local voters. "I have always believed in miracles... for me and for my government, for all of my team it's all about you...tonight is about every single Australian," a beaming Morrison told his supporters.

"You don't get to be a Prime Minister and serve in that capacity unless you first are a member for your local electorate. I want to thank everybody here in my local electorate and local team," said Morrison, who has only led the government since last August, when Liberal Party colleagues lost confidence in his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull. Morrison had wooed voters by saying if re-elected, the Coalition would deliver a stable economy, more jobs and tax cuts. He also promised funds for women's career initiative and domestic violence and conservative plans to deal with climate change. "Our government will get back to work just as Gladys Berejiklian got back to work in New South Wales, just a few months ago," he told his supporters. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump congratulated Morrison on his election victory. President Trump congratulated Prime Minister Morrison on his Coalition's victory in Australia's federal election, White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said.

"The two leaders reaffirmed the critical importance of the long-standing alliance and friendship between the United States and Australia, and they pledged to continue their close cooperation on shared priorities," Deere said. Center-left Labor Party leader Bill Shorten, who campaigned heavily on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conceded his defeat and said he would resign as the party leader. "I called Scott Morrison to congratulate him... wished him good fortune and good courage in the service of our great nation. The national interest required no less," Shorten said while addressing his supporters in Melbourne. A Nine-Galaxy poll released shortly before the voting stations closed in the east of the country showed a victory for the Labor party and Liberal Party-led coalition losing its bid for a third three-year term.

The poll showed the Labor winning as many as 82 seats, beating the ruling Coalition. On Friday, media reports also endorsed Labor leader Shorten as the best chance to end a "cycle of instability" in Australian politics. Before elections, the Coalition held 73 seats, while Labor 72 in the House of Representatives. According to media reports, the ruling Liberal supporters started celebrations at the party headquarters after it became clear that it may form the next government. The Greens, Centre Alliance and other Katter's Australia party has all taken one seat each. The Coalition managed to make significant gains in Queensland and Tasmania and limited its loss in New South Wales and Victoria. Former prime minister Tony Abbott, who once described climate change as "crap", lost his seat of Warringah in northern Sydney to independent Zali Steggall, a lawyer and Olympic medallist in Alpine skiing, after suffering a swing of over 13 per cent votes against him.

"This is really extraordinary results, it is a stupendous results, it is a great result for Scott Morrison and the rest of the Liberal team, and Scott Morrisson will quite rightly enter the Liberal Pantheon forever," Abbott said, conceding his defeat. According to last week's Newspoll survey, even though Labor took the swing in its favour, the leader approval rating favoured Morrison with 45 per cent saying he would make a better prime minister as compared to Shorten. Anger over the government's inaction on climate change is said to prove the real difference between the two parties. Australia has experienced some of the worst effects of climate change in recent few years, from deadly bush fires to the destruction of natural wonders like the Great Barrier Reef. Concern about climate change is now at a 10-year high among Australians, with 64 per cent believing it should be a top priority for the government, according to an Ipsos poll released in April. The Labor party is promising to cut Australia's carbon emissions by 45 per cent on 2005 levels, compared to the government's minimum pledge of 26 per cent. Australia has compulsory voting and a complex system of ballots ranked by voter preference. The political, economic and cultural differences varies from state to state on the vast island-continent.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates </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> With so many gains for the Coalition and so few for Labor, Mr Shorten's hopes of becoming Prime Minister receded as election night went on. The Coalition, which has trailed Labor in the polls throughout its turbulent time in government, went in to the campaign with 74 seats and added to that tally across Queensland, where it defeated Labor in Longman and Herbert. The Coalition also wrested the Tasmanian seat of Braddon from Labor and appeared likely to claim the neighbouring electorate of Bass as well. The Coalition and Labor teams were anxiously waiting on results from Western Australia to be sure of the outcome. The Coalition's gains left Labor clutching to the hope of negotiating with crossbench MPs to hold government in a hung Parliament. With the electorate enduring more than a decade of unprecedented parliamentary bloodletting - Australia has had seven Prime Ministers in 11 years - many neutral observers were hoping for a period of political stability.

However, the result shows the nation is divided along geographic and ideological lines with Mr Abbott declaring a political "realignment" with Labor making gains in progressive wealthy seats and the Coalition doing better in working class areas. A group of key independents could still hold the key to power. Mr Abbott said the Coalition would be able to retain government even though he conceded he would lose his seat of Warringah, a safe Liberal electorate for years that came under attack from independent candidate Zali Steggall and her campaign for more action on climate change. "The good news is that there is every chance the Liberal National Coalition has won this election," Mr Abbott said. "This is a really extraordinary result, it is a stupendous result, it is a great result for Scott Morrison and the rest of the Liberal team, and Scott Morrison will quite rightly enter the Liberal pantheon forever."

In western Sydney, the electorate of Lindsay fell to the Liberals while the neighbouring electorate of Macquarie appeared to be shifting in the same way. In eastern Sydney, the Liberal Party was confident of regaining the blue-ribbon seat of Wentworth with Liberal candidate Dave Sharma ahead of independent MP Kerryn Phelps, who gained the seat at a byelection last year. The outcomes give the Coalition a narrow majority in the House of Representatives unless it suffers the loss of other seats. Labor gained the seat of Gilmore on the NSW South Coast and the two Victorian seats of Chisholm and Dunkley. Bill Shorten with his wife Chloe on election day. Early in the night, Mr Shorten appeared to be on track to become Australia's 31st prime minister after an exit poll predicted a swing to Labor, with voters naming health and climate change as key factors in their decisions.

While Labor Party members were buoyant before the early count, Mr Morrison expressed caution about his chances, saying he made "no assumptions" about holding on to power. While the Liberal Party appeared likely to regain Wentworth, independent MPs made gains elsewhere with Victorian independent Helen Haines on track to win Indi and succeed former independent MP Cathy McGowan. Combined with the victory for Ms Steggall, the election appears to leave Parliament with a crossbench that includes Greens MP Adam Bandt, Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie, Queenslander Bob Katter, South Australian Rebekha Sharkie as well as Ms Steggall and Dr Haines. Mr Wilkie has ruled out doing any deal with a minority government while Mr Katter has backed the Coalition in the past. Others have named climate change policy as a factor in their decisions on whether to support a minority government on votes of confidence and supply.

The government's 74 seats in the House of Representatives was down from the 76 it won at the last election due to the departure of former Liberal MP Julia Banks to the crossbench and the arrival of independent MP Kerryn Phelps in Wentworth. Labor started with 69 seats from the last Parliament. Bill Shorten and wife Chloe, left, and Scott Morrison and wife Jenny, right, vote on Saturday. Labor described its election effort as its largest "field campaign" in history, putting more than 25,000 volunteers into the field to knock on more than one million doors. Labor claimed its supporters made more than one million phone calls to urge Australians to back their party. Activist group GetUp said it had mobilised more than 9000 volunteers who had worked on the ground, with a wider group of helpers making more than 700,000 phone calls during the campaign. The ACTU had about 5000 volunteers working during the campaign.

Mr Shorten began the final day of the campaign by urging Australians to change the government because Labor would act on climate change, spend more on health, restore stability after the leadership division within the Liberal Party and improve fairness by scaling back tax concessions for the wealthy. He visited Melbourne electorates after an early morning run wearing a t-shirt that asked people to vote for "Chloe Shorten's husband" – an acknowledgement of his wife's importance to his campaign. Mr Morrison campaigned at a more hectic pace by flying to Tasmania on Saturday morning to woo voters in the marginal seat of Bass before heading to Sydney for the remainder of the day. The Coalition adopted the same approach the previous day with a relentless tour through Queensland marginal seats.

"I already feel a responsibility to millions of people to win. But sure, I want to do it for Bob, as well," Mr Shorten said on Thursday. "I don't want to let his memory down."
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.