Australian news and politics live: Labor campaign boss Paul Erickson reveals five reasons ALP won election

Meanwhile, in Victoria, things are not going so well for Premier Jacinta Allan, who has found herself in a rather stinky situation.

A farmer dumped a box of cow manure outside the Premier’s parliamentary office on Tuesday, as a protest raged on the front steps over the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund levy - And, the state Liberals aren’t sorry.

A note on the box read: “Dearest Jacinta, I have considered your levy and here’s my feedback, it’s bulls***. Love Brutus + family”.

The vacuum-sealed dung package came wrapped in pink twine and with a photo of a cow attached.

Ms Allan said the “disgraceful” behaviour would not be tolerated in any other workplace and wasn’t funny.

“I spoke to the staff member involved and she told me how she felt unsafe,” she told reporters on Wednesday.

Read more here.

Ending the press conference, Anthony Albanese shared his optimism for Labor’s priorities and the future of Australia.

The Prime Minister said Labor would continue to focus on strengthening Medicare, getting inflation down, creating jobs, energy transformation, and strengthening the Australian economy in lifting up wages.

“That’s our focus,” Mr Albanese said.

“Our focus is on our positive vision. I think one of the issues during the campaign was our optimistic, positive vision, versus a Coalition at that time that was talking Australia down.

“I’m really optimistic about Australia’s position. There’s nowhere you’d rather be. And when you talk with leaders from around the world, it really reinforces that they look at the Australian achievement of getting inflation down whilst not getting a spike in unemployment, whilst getting wages up, that’s a significant achievement.

“It’s something we’re really proud of, and I look forward to working on that.”

When asked about the shock Coalition split, Anthony Albanese said it was “a matter for the Liberal Party and the National Party”.

“I’ve had discussions with both Sussan Ley and David Littleproud on a one-on-one basis,” he said. “We’ll continue to treat people across the Parliament, of course, with respect. Those arrangements are really a matter for them.”

Mr Albanese didn’t bite when a reporter asked if the Coalition split was “another win for the Labor Party”, he just reiterated, “that’s a matter for them”.

“Our job is to remain focused,” he said.

“I make this point; political parties will not be successful if they’re focused on themselves. My task is to focus on the needs of the Australian people. If the Liberal Party and the National Party want to focus on each other and focus on their internals, that’s a matter for them.

“I lead a united party that is focused on the needs of the Australian people.”

Mr Albanese said his job was to lead a government that is “orderly and provides for the implementation of the program that we took to the Australian people and received such a strong mandate for”.

“That will be my focus,” he said.

Speaking with reporters after arriving home from his overseas trips to Indonesia and Italy, Anthony Albanese said attending Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass was “an incredible honour”.

“To have an audience with the Holy Father was a great honour,” the Prime Minister told reporters. And one of the things I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

At a doorstop with reporters after the National Press Club, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke briefly of his trip to Indonesia, describing it as “very successful”.

“Indonesia is such an important relationship for us, and we were looked after very well by President Prabowo. I had an extensive one on one meeting with him, as well as our leaders meeting,” he said.

“I look forward to President Prabowo visiting Australia later this year.”

He added that on the way back he was also able to meet with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, saying Australia had a “warm relationship with Singapore”.

Mr Albanese said he also had discussions with the new German Chancellor and met a range of leaders from around Europe.

“I sat down with Ursula von der Leyen, the leader of the European Union, about tariffs, about trade,” he said.

“It’s important that we have free and fair trade and that the international economic system be allowed to continue to function, and leaders are engaged in that discussion.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a rare appearance at the National Press Club to hear from the man who helped orchestrate Labor’s stomping election win.

Mr Albanese was sitting in the front row as his campaign guru Paul Erickson delivered a behind-the-scenes look at how Labor secured its victory.

The campaign architect and ALP national secretary spoke for the first time on Wednesday about why he thinks the campaign ended with Mr Albanese in a position of historic power and left the conservative side of Australian politics in what has been dubbed a “smoking ruin”.

Mr Erickson credited the Prime Minister’s “exemplary” campaigning and leadership at three crucial moments for his massive win over rival Peter Dutton.

“From the first Monday of January through to election day, the Prime Minister was in the form of a lifetime,” Mr Erickson said on Wednesday to a packed room.

-- AAP’s Duncan Evans reports

Read more here.

Former Liberal Prime Minister Tony Abbott has expressed his disappointment in the Coalition split, issuing a stark warning, saying “Liberals and the Nationals win together and fail separately”.

“I deeply regret the Coalition split and hope that it can be re-formed as soon as possible,” he wrote in a post to X.

“History shows that the Liberals and the Nationals win together and fail separately. What’s needed right now is a strong critique of a deeply underwhelming government and the development of a clear policy alternative.”

He added achieving that goal would be much more likely with a “functioning Coalition than with two opposition parties competing with each other rather than with Labor”.

Mr Erickson is asked if the threat to Labor from the Teals might be more of a threat at the next election.

“We weren’t surprised to see independent challenges emerge,” he said.

“We’ll be having a good look at what that means for how we campaign (in the future).

“For me it reinforces the belief that there’s no such thing as a safe seat.”

He’s asked if influencers were a secret campaign weapon.

“The media landscape has changed and the pace of change is accelerating,” he said.

“We took the view that we needed to engage with all comers.

“We also tried to connect with new and emrgening forms of media and made the effort to be everywhere.”

Mr Erickson is asked what his advice was to the Coalition as they navigated their current turmoil.

“The way that they organise themselves is a matter for them,” he said.

But he said it was important for the Govrnment to remain “very grounded” and very focused.

“We need to stay focused on the voters who elected us and on delivering the agenda,” he said.