"Trump factor' helps Labor to election win in Australia

Anthony Albanese claimed victory as the first Australian prime minister to clinch a second consecutive term in 21 years yesterday and suggested his government had increased its majority by not modeling itself on US president Donald Trump's administration.

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“Australians have chosen to face global challenges the Australian way, looking after each other while building for the future,” Mr 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 Mr Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency.

Mr Dutton had earlier conceded his alliance of conservative parties had been defeated at the election and that he had lost his own parliamentary seat that he had held for 24 years.

Mr Dutton’s plight parallels that of Canada’s opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, who lost his seat after Mr Trump declared economic war on the US neighbour to the north. Mr Poilievre had previously been regarded as a shoo-in to become Canada’s next prime minister and shepherd his Conservative Party back into power for the first time in a decade.

Analysts argue that mirroring Mr Trump switched from a political positive for Australian conservatives to a negative after Mr Trump imposed global tariffs.