Foreign minister Penny Wong has made a brutal comparison of the political tactics of Greens leader Adam Bandt and ousted Liberal leader Peter Dutton.

Bandt is fighting to retain the Melbourne seat he has held since 2010. On Tuesday, the ALPâs Sarah Witty was ahead but Bandt was expected to pull through after preferences, according to the ABC.
Two Teals in Victoria also looked to be in trouble, with Monique Ryanâs lead dwindling in Kooyong and Zoe Daniel falling behind Liberal Tim Wilson in Goldstein.
Wong seized on Bandtâs electoral struggle and accused him of becoming too embroiled in the âculture warsâ and leading a party that was focused on âgrievancesâ.
âAustralians rejected the politics of conflict and the politics of grievance and unfortunately, Adam Bandt in some ways is quite like Peter Dutton,â she said on Tuesday.
Both the Greens and Liberals employed the same aggressive politics, âand I think Australians have comprehensively rejected thatâ, she said.
Wong, who doubles as the governmentâs Senate leader, issued a warning to the Greens to heed the results of the election after the minor party pledged to use its balance of power to force more progressive reforms.
She said Bandt should consider the message Australians had sent to all parliamentarians, arguing that people had rejected âculture-war politicsâ.
âPeople were concerned about Medicare. People were concerned about cost of living. People were concerned about tax cuts. People were concerned about schools and hospitals and bulk-billing and fee-free TAFE,â she said.
âThatâs what Australians wanted to see.
âThey werenât interested in the Peter Dutton Liberal Party culture wars.â
Wong said the Coalitionâs decision to ramp up culture wars during the election âwas a demonstration of why the Liberal Party has done so badly in Australia, cities and suburbsâ.
âOverwhelmingly, Australians who live in cities and suburbs looked at the Liberal Party and said, âyou donât represent my aspirations, you donât reflect the things Iâm worried aboutâ.â
Wong pledged to serve the full term in the new government, adding: âIâm looking forward to being part of a third-term Labor government as wellâ.
Albanese is now mulling a refreshed cabinet with factional leaders set to meet in the coming days to present their picks.
However, the leadership team of Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, Defence Minister Richard Marles, and Trade Minister Don Farrell will remain.
The foreign minister also confirmed Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek would hold a âseniorâ cabinet position amid speculation she could be stripped of her portfolio.
Following the electoral wipeout, the Liberal leadership contest is coming down to three contenders after Dutton became the first opposition leader to lose his seat.
The frontrunners are shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor and deputy leader Sussan Ley.
The Nationals will also spill their leadership roles, as is customary after every election, win or lose.
Leader David Littleproud is expected to keep his job, assuming there are no challengers, Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said.
But the deputy role is up for grabs with incumbent Perin Davey likely to lose her spot after a Coalition drubbing in NSW after she was placed third on a joint Senate ticket.
McKenzie didnât rule out a tilt at deputy but said she enjoyed her current role as the partyâs Senate leader as she called for âa deep, honest and brutal examination of what happenedâ for both coalition parties.
The Nationals retained all but one of their lower house seats but remain a chance at picking up Bendigo.
Labor has won at least 85 seats and the Coalition 39 with 16 seats too close to call as of Tuesday morning.
Two Teal candidates are fighting to hang on as vote counting continues in two Victorian seats.
Independents Monique Ryan and Zoe Daniel are clinging on in their election races after strong postal returns for the Liberals.
Ryanâs margin over Liberal candidate Amelia Hamer in the high-profile seat in Melbourneâs leafy inner east shrunk to 1001 votes on Tuesday.
Ryan suffered a 1.6 per cent swing against her, but prematurely declared victory on Saturday night, with her husband holding up a âKooyong we did it!â sign.
âThings were looking good on the night, in (election analyst) Antony Green we trusted,â she said on Monday morning.
âBut postal votes have been very much pro the conservative side so I think at this point Kooyong is very much in the air. Itâs possible (I could lose).â
Daniel lost her lead over Liberal candidate Tim Wilson, with the former Liberal MP she ousted in 2022 now ahead by 334 votes on Tuesday.
Postal ballots were favouring Wilson, who benefited from a 3.4 per cent swing to the Liberals.
Daniel said on Sunday that it would take days for the result to be confirmed.
If Wilson or Hamer can turn the tables on the Teals, theyâre likely to be the Liberalsâ only federal representatives in metropolitan Melbourne.
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