Australian news and politics live: Lambie, Bandt’s future in doubt as lengthy Federal election count continues

Since Anthony Albanese was re-elected, world leaders have been quick to congratulate the Prime Minister.

However, congratulations from the US have come not from President Donald Trump, instead from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Asked on Monday if this was a concern, Deputy PM Richard Marles said, “no”.

“The relationship with the United States is profoundly important,” he told Sunrise.

“The alliance remains the cornerstone of our strategic and foreign policy.

“We have said consistently, we feel a sense of confidence about being able to manage that relationship with President Trump.

“But it is most definitely a priority in terms of what we do in re-engaging in the world after having been involved in the election campaign.

“What happens is when you do have an election campaign, we kind of leave you alone for a bit, to give you the space to do that.”

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says Labor are ready to get to work after its landslide victory on Saturday.

“There was a substantial agenda that we took to the election and now our focus is on carrying that out, Mr Marles told Sunrise.

“I think the size of the victory doesn’t change any of that. In fact, I think the size of the victory is an endorsement of the way in which we have been going about things in a very sensible and considered and thoughtful way.

“We will just take that agenda and move forward on it and it is very significant, housing and Medicare and what we need to do in education, all of those things give us a lot of work to do off of that.

“I am in Canberra and the Prime Minister is as well. We need to get on quickly with the process of selecting our ministry and swearing in the Government.”

As counting continues on Monday, the future of Senator Jacqui Lambie and Greens Leader Adam Bandt is in doubt.

In Tasmania, Senator Lambie is facing fierce competition from One Nation’s Lee Hanson.

Ms Hanson, a One Nation candidate, is the daughter of One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson.

In Victoria, Mr Bandt is in a tight race for his seat of Melbourne.

Mr Bandt could become the second Party Leader to lose his seat in the 2025 election if he loses out to Labor candidate Sarah Witty.

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has given an update on his health after revealing he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“I feel fine,” Mr Joyce told Sunrise on Monday morning.

“That’s the problem with prostate cancer, you don’t feel bad, you go to the toilet more than you should.

He revealed his doctor pressured him to get a PSA test, which revealed “elevated levels”. Follow-up tests, including an MRI and biopsy, revealed the former Nationals leaders had cancer.

Mr Joyce said he was told “he was lucky” because the diagnosis was made “early”.

He said he had known about his cancer diagnosis “throughout the campaign”, however, he chose not to make an announcement until after the election to avoid a “circus”.

Mr Joyce is having an operation on Monday.

The Coalition will be forced to carry out a “fundamental reorganisation” of the party’s structure to ensure its ongoing relevance to voters after its election wipeout, a leading pollster says.

As votes continue to be counted after Saturday’s poll, figures show the Coalition could slump to its lowest percentage of seats in parliament since the formation of the Liberal Party in the 1940s.

While Anthony Albanese has claimed an expanded mandate as prime minister with a larger majority in his second term, questions are being raised as to where the Coalition will go.

But it could be some time before a new leader is appointed by the Liberals.

Deputy Leader Sussan Ley said the party room would meet to elect an opposition leader and deputy.

After consulting with the party’s senior leadership Ms Ley said several seats where preferential counting was continuing would have to be decided before the meeting could take place.

She said her party was reflecting on the results with humility.

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