Australia's PM Albanese wins second 3-year term

Labor had held a narrow majority of 78 seats in the 151-seat House of Representatives, the lower chamber where parties form governments Associated Press

- Associated Press

MELBOURNE: Anthony Albanese claimed victory as the first Australian prime minister to clinch a second consecutive three-year term in 21 years on Saturday and suggested his government had increased its majority in the next Parliament by not modeling itself on US President Donald Trump's administration.

"Australians have chosen to face global challenges the Australian way, looking after each other while building for the future," Albanese told supporters in a victory speech in Sydney.

"We do not need to beg or borrow or copy from anywhere else. We do not seek our inspiration overseas. We find it right here in our values and in our people," he added. His centre-left Labor Party had branded Albanese's rival Peter Dutton, the opposition leader, "DOGE-y Dutton" and accused his conservative Liberal Party of mimicking Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency.