‘Thank you for this extraordinary honour’: Australia PM-elect Albanese in victory speech

Addressing supporters of his Labor Party in Sydney, the 59-year-old leader also said, among other things, that 'Australia had voted for change.'

Australian opposition leader Anthony Albanese, who will be the nation's 31st prime minister after his Australian Labor Party (ALP) emerged victorious in Saturday's federal election, thanked his countrymen for what he said was an ‘extraordinary honour,’ adding that people had voted for change.

Australian opposition leader Anthony Albanese gestures as he addresses Labour supporters after winning the 2022 general election at the Federal Labour Reception in Sydney on May 21, 2022. (Photo by Wendell TEODORO / AFP)

“I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, I pay my respect to their elders--past, present and emerging,” Albanese said to cheering Labor Party supporters at its headquarters in Sydney. “I say to my fellow Australians…thank you for this extraordinary honour. Tonight, the Australian people have voted for change. I am humbled by this victory, and I'm honoured to be given the opportunity to serve as the 31st prime minister of Australia,” the 59-year-old leader remarked.

The Labor Party leader, who was introduced by Penny Wong, widely tipped to be the foreign minister in the incoming government, further said his team would work 'everyday' to bring Australians together. “I will lead a government worthy of the people of Australia,” he added.

Albanese also said he received a congratulatory call from the outgoing PM, Scott Morrison, adding that he is grateful to his predecessor for his service to the country.

He then went on to remember his single mother, who was a disability pensioner. “It says a lot about our great country that her son can stand before you tonight as Australia's prime minister,” the PM-designate remarked.

Albanese also promised his government would respect each voter regardless of who they voted for, adding that he hopes that next time, he also gets votes for those who didn't vote Labor in the current elections.

Meanwhile, according to latest projections, the ALP had won or was ahead on 72 seats, just four short of a simple majority in the 151-seat House of Representatives. The corresponding figures for Morrison's outgoing Liberal/National coalition stood at 55.