Labor forms majority government after securing 76 seats
The Labor party has secured a majority government in the federal election after gaining the 76 seats they needed in order to govern in their own right.
The formation of the Labor majority government means the party will not have to negotiate with an expanded crossbench in order to get legislation through the lower house.
The majority government was formed as Labor MP Josh Burns was reelected in the Melbourne seat of Macnamara, bringing the seat count to the target number of 76.
Given the Coalition was so far behind on the seat count, having lost legacy seats to teal independents, it was practically impossible the Liberal and National parties could use the crossbench to form a minority government.
The crossbench will have 16 members, with an ideological spectrum that ranges from Queenslander Bob Katter on the right to the Greens on the left.
Sources have suggested that it is likely that the new government will strike deals with the teals, independents and Greens to strengthen the passage of its legislation.
Labor still needs to find a new deputy leader in the Senate to replace Kristina Keneally, who lost the seat of Fowler to independent candidate Dai Le in an embarrassing loss.
The Labor caucus will determine who will serve in the cabinet when it meets later on Tuesday.
The proportion of Left and Right members on the frontbench will be determined based on how many seats each faction wins.
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