Federal election 2025: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he will seek third term if Labor wins on May 3

The Prime Minister says he will seek a third term if he is re-elected on May 3 but flagged a major Cabinet reshuffle, saying regeneration was important.

The unexpected revelation comes as Anthony Albanese fights for his political life after a poor first-term, clawing back his popularity poll by poll.

He is hoping to win a second term and retain the Labor party’s three-seat majority to avoid slipping into minority government.

Mr Albanese’s goal to continue his leadership of the Labor party beyond nine years would bring an end to the decade of Australia’s revolving door of prime ministers that Julia Gillard started in 2010 when she knifed Kevin Rudd for the prime ministership, turning his landslide into a minority that led to Labor’s ejection from office in 2013.

The Liberals copied Labor’s approach of chopping down sitting prime ministers during their eight years in power which ended with Mr Albanese’s narrow win in 2022.

In an exclusive interview with The Nightly, Mr Albanese praised his three years in office as the most stable first-term government “potentially in the whole post-war period”.

“I certainly don’t know about the Menzies government but at least from Whitlam on,” he told the Latika Takes podcast for The Nightly.

“I’m not getting ahead of myself — I’m in a ballot on the third of May, and I’m determined to win. And I will serve out a full term — I’m determined to do that. Because I think there has been too much chopping and changing.”

He said he planned to fight a third election campaign in 2028 if he was successful next month.

“If I’m successful on the third of May, then yeah,” he said.

His intention to serve out a full second term but also seek a third scotches speculation that his purchase of a multi-million dollar beach house on the Central Coast was a sign he was contemplating a mid-term retirement in any second term, which is growing more likely by the day.

It also dashes the immediate leadership hopes of would-be heirs sitting on his frontbench, which includes Jim Chalmers, Tony Burke, Richard Marles and Tanya Plibersek.

The Prime Minister has not ruled out moving Tanya Plibersek from the environment portfolio, having overridden her on the nature positive laws and salmon farming and avoiding accepting a hug from her in an awkward moment at Sunday’s campaign launch in Perth, pictured right.

By contrast he clasped and raised hands with Ms Gillard.

The latest Newspoll published by The Australian showed Labor had cemented its election-winning lead at 52-48, putting the Government on course to win a minority government but potentially hold its majority.

If Mr Albanese wins the Labor Party government again, he will be the first leader since John Howard in 2004 to win a second term as Prime Minister.

First-time voters on May 3 will have never seen a prime minister who has served a full term re-elected.

If Mr Albanese serves another full term he would overtake Paul Keating to become Labor’s second-longest serving prime minister post-war behind Bob Hawke.

He will overtake Gough Whitlam to become the third-longest serving Labor prime minister by election day.

Mr Albanese said long-term leadership also mattered internationally as it improved the nation’s reputation and enabled him to form deeper relationships with influential world leaders such as the leader of the world’s most populous nation and rising superpower, India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

“It’s commented, internationally, that Australia chopping and changing prime ministers is not a positive thing,” Mr Albanese said.

“Bringing stability to Australia’s leadership and our standing in the world as well does take time.

“I have developed some relationships that are important for Australia with President Prabowo, in Indonesia. I have a good relationship with him; that’s why you need a long-term leader.

“I’ve met with Prime Minister Modi 11 times — that’s important for Australia’s national interest.”

Mr Albanese said another dividend of how he had used his ongoing position as leader was to change the party’s culture.

“I’ve been leader now for six years,” he said.

“I am humbled by the support that I have had across the board. There is no talk of instability in our show and that is very different from what it was, really for a long period of time, going back at least to after the 2001 election.

“And that unity and sense of purpose is one of the things that give people confidence.

“I allow ministers to do their job, it’s proper Cabinet government, they come and talk to me about big decisions but I don’t micromanage what they do.”

Cabinet reshuffle

One of the Prime Minister’s first tasks if re-elected will be to reshuffle his Cabinet.

Under Labor rules, the caucus elects who sits in Cabinet but the Prime Minister determines their portfolios.

Only the deputy leader, who is Richard Marles, gets to choose what portfolio he holds. He is currently Defence Minister.

The left faction selects its ministers by a single national vote across the caucus, while the right chooses its ministerial representatives by State on a pro-rata basis.

Mr Albanese said his core leadership team would remain the same but signalled all other jobs would be up for grabs.

“The key people in my Government I expect to hold the same portfolios across the leaders group, after the election as well,” he said.

“Richard Marles in defence, Penny Wong in foreign affairs, Jim Chalmers in treasury, Don Farrell in trade and Katy Gallagher in finance bring a stability to the show that is really important.”

But he said the retirements of Linda Burney, Brendan O’Connor and Bill Shorten, as well as the assistant treasurer Stephen Jones, meant a re-jig of his frontbench was necessary.

“There’s a couple of vacancies already there, and it’s also important that a government regenerate,” he said.

Asked if he would guarantee Ms Plibersek would keep the environment portfolio, Mr Albanese declined to give that promise.

“I’ll commit to trying to win this election. I don’t assume,” he said.

“Tanya Plibersek has been a friend of mine for a long period of time. We live in neighbouring seats. We’re good mates, and she’s doing a fantastic job.”

Ms Plibersek laughed off their awkward encounter that was caught on camera in Perth and said she was “best buddies” with the Prime Minister.

No regrets

Asked if he had any regrets, Mr Albanese said he had enough critiques from the media.

“There are always things you could do better,” he said.

But when asked to nominate examples, he declined.

“I get enough assessments on the front page of newspapers without giving a critique of myself,” he said.

But he said a majority government was important to give confidence amid the global turmoil sparked by Donald Trump’s on-and-off again trade war that has wiped billions off stock markets and led to the US President reversing most of the heaviest duties on countries except for China.

“We know that in the economy, confidence is so important,” Mr Albanese said.

“If you have a majority in the House of Representatives then that gives you more confidence when you are putting things through both chambers of our Parliament.

“Economic confidence could be more reassured with a majority government.”

Read Part One of The Nightly’s exclusive interview with Anthony Albanese here.