MPs won’t return to Canberra for two months

MPs and senators will return to Canberra for the 48th parliament on July 22. Photo: AAP
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has revealed when he will flex his increased majority in the next federal parliament.
MPs and senators will return to Canberra for the 48th parliament on July 22, more than two months after Labor’s thumping election victory.
“The government is humbled by the support of the Australian people,” Albanese said on Thursday.
“I look forward to advancing the government’s legislative agenda over the coming parliamentary term.”
Albanese has written to Governor-General Sam Mostyn proposing eight sitting weeks for the rest of the year.
In the upcoming parliamentary term, Labor will have at least 93 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, an increase from 78 in its first term.
Labor could have as many as 94 seats, depending on the outcome in the Melbourne seat of Calwell, which is yet to be finalised.
The Australian Electoral Commission said Calwell was the most complicated count in its history.
The 2025 election was the first time since the 1960s a first-term government increased its seats in the House of Representatives.
Uncertainty remains as to whether the Liberal and National parties will reconcile their political differences and reunite as a coalition in the next parliament.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud are locked in negotiations to bring the Coalition back together, after the alliance split over policy differences on nuclear energy, regional funding and breaking up supermarkets.
The former Coalition was reduced to its worst result at a federal election since the 1940s, with former leader Peter Dutton losing his seat.
The Liberals will have only 28 seats in the lower house, while the Nationals have 15.
The Greens will also have just one seat, having lost former leader Adam Bandt. Independents and other minor parties have 11 between them.
Albanese said Labor had a clear mandate from voters to implement its agenda.
“The reform program we took to the election was shaped by the priorities of the Australian people,” he said.
“We look forward to continuing the work of building Australia’s future.”
-AAP