Australia’s Parliament met for the first time since the Labor Party secured one of its strongest victories in the national elections held in May.
With a solid majority, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government is now set to begin its second term with a strong agenda.
The opening session began with a traditional Welcome to Country ceremony held at Parliament House in Canberra.
The practice, led by Indigenous representatives, acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land and was first introduced in 2007 under a previous Labor government.
The first item on the new government’s legislative plan is a bill targeting student loan debt. Scheduled for introduction on Wednesday, the proposal would reduce existing student debts by 20%.
This change would affect around 3 million Australians and cost the government an estimated 16 billion Australian dollars, which is approximately 10 billion US dollars.
In addition to education debt reform, the government also intends to present new laws affecting child care and workplace conditions.
These include potential funding cuts to child care centers that do not meet required standards, as well as legal backing for certain wage rates to support fair pay.
Labor now holds 94 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives, the chamber responsible for forming governments. This marks the party’s largest majority in nearly three decades.
The last time a party secured such a result was in 1996, when former Prime Minister John Howard’s coalition won the same number of seats in a slightly smaller chamber.
With this mandate, Albanese becomes the first Australian leader since Howard to secure back-to-back election victories, bringing stability after years of leadership changes across various parties.