Canberra, May 22 (Agency) Anthony Albanese Australia’s new leader said that he intends to take the country in a new direction, with a big shift in the climate policy, BBC reported on Sunday. Albanese, who won Saturday’s general election with the opposition centre-left Labor Party, said he wants to make Australia a renewable energy superpower. Albanese is to be sworn in as PM on Monday, but it is still not clear whether his party will have the requisite majority in parliament. For Australian who have been suffering a series of natural calamities in the past few years, this election climate change was a key concern for the voters.
Vote counting is still continuing, and it is unclear whether Labor can get 76 seats to secure a majority in the 151-member lower house of parliament. Final results may not be known for several days, as electoral officials have just started counting nearly three million postal votes.
If there is a hung parliament, Greens and independents – who have been campaigning for radical climate change action – could play a significant role in government formation and likewise wield greater influence in framing the new government’s policies on the issue. Albanese, who will be heading Australia’s first Labor government in almost a decade, has also promised to adopt more ambitious emissions targets, while refusing to phase out coal use or to block the opening of new coal mines in the country.