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1 1 (October 22, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/crseveryaaayk0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Australia's Hung Parliament and Elections name redacted Specialist in Asian Affairs Updated October 22, 2018 Introduction A surprise defeat in an October 20 parliamentary by-election in the Australian electorate of Wentworth left the conservative Liberal Party-led government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison without a majority in parliament. Independent politician Kerryn Phelps' victory in the Wentworth district ended extended conservative control of the seat, which was long held by former Liberal Party Prime Minister Malcolm Tumbull. One interpretation of the swing in voter sentiment away from the Liberal candidate is that voters sought to punish the party for ousting Tumbull as Prime Minister and Party Leader in August 2018. The next national parliamentary election is now expected in May 2019. Hung Parliament The current hung parliament consists of 75 members of the Liberal-National Coalition, 69 Labor Party members, and 6 crossbenchers. If any one of the crossbench MPs align themselves with the Liberal- National Coalition, the government would once again have a majority in parliament. Conversely, if all of the independents align themselves with the Labor Party, the Morrison government would fall and elections would be called. That said, the recently elected Phelps reportedly believes governments should serve their full terms except under exceptional circumstances and that responsible crossbenchers should limit the chaos resulting from a hung parliament. A mid-October 2018 poll indicates that the Coalition (47%) trails Labor (53%) in a two-party-preferred vote. The government's coalition in the 76-member Australian Senate includes 25 Liberal Party, 5 National Party, and 1 Country Liberal Party members. The opposition in the Senate includes 26 Labor Party MPs while the crossbench includes 9 Green Party members and 10 smaller party and independent members. Congressional Research Service 7-.... www.crs.gov IN10989 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress