Australian PM Scott Morrison Concedes His Government's Election Defeat

Now that the Labor party has won the federal election, its leader Anthony Albanese is poised to become Australia's next prime minister.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison conceded the defeat of his government in the federal election on Saturday.

"We leave government having secured our borders many years ago. And we leave government having restored our nation's defences. Restoring our investment in our defence forces and building up again, the strength of our defence forces so that Australia can always say we might look to others but we never leave it to others as a country because as a government we've invested in the security of our nation and we leave it strong," Morrison said in his concession speech.

He went on to express gratitude to the Australian people who supported him in the election, particularly nodding to the defence forces, security agencies, border protection agencies and law enforcement for their "amazing job to keep Australians safe and keep Australians together" over the past years.

The outgoing prime minister also wished "the very best" to his Labor successor, Anthony Albanese.

It was the first victorious election for the Labor party since 2007. According to an early counting on Saturday, Morrison's coalition was on track to secure 38 seats, with Labor winning 71, while there were also seven unaligned lawmakers and 23 were too close to call.

Among Labor's promises were financial assistance and a robust social safety net, as the country tackles soaring inflation, along with increasing minimum wages. In foreign policy, Albanese's party plans to create a Pacific defence school to train neighboring armies in response to China's potential military presence in the Solomon Islands.