Morrison government in the context of Deputy Prime Minister of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right to right-wing political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Australia Party. Historically the most electorally successful party in Australia, the Liberal Party is now in opposition at a federal level, although it presently holds government in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania at a state (sub-national) level.

The Liberal Party is the largest partner in a centre-right grouping known in Australian politics as the Coalition, accompanied by the regional-based National Party, which is typically focussed on issues pertinent to regional Australia. The Liberal Party last governed Australia, in coalition with the Nationals, between 2013 and 2022, forming the Abbott (2013–2015), Turnbull (2015–2018) and Morrison (2018–2022) governments. The Coalition has been suspended on occasion throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, though as of 2025 the two parties form a shadow ministry under the leadership of Sussan Ley.

A federal election was held on 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal–National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth consecutive term in office but was defeated by the Labor Party, led by Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese. Up for election were all 151 seats in the lower house, the House of Representatives, as well as 40 of the 76 seats in the upper house, the Senate. The voter turnout of 89.82% in this election was the lowest in modern history, falling below 90% for the first time since 1922, prior to the introduction of compulsory voting in Australia.

The Labor Party achieved a majority government for the first time since 2007, winning 77 seats in the House of Representatives. Albanese was sworn in as Prime Minister on 23 May 2022, becoming the fourth Labor leader to win government from opposition since World War II, after Gough Whitlam in 1972, Bob Hawke in 1983, and Kevin Rudd in 2007. Every state and territory except Tasmania swung to Labor on a two-party-preferred basis. The largest two-party preferred swing was in Western Australia (10.6%), where Labor won a majority of seats for the first time since 1990. The Coalition suffered severe losses, winning 58 seats, its lowest share in the House of Representatives since 1946, the first federal election contested by the Liberal Party. On election night, Morrison conceded defeat and announced he would resign as Liberal leader, and was subsequently replaced by Peter Dutton.

The Albanese government is the sitting federal government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the Labor Party. The Albanese government was sworn in on 23 May 2022 by the Governor-General of Australia, David Hurley. The party governed with a two-to-three seat majority in the House of Representatives in its first term, and expanded its majority to 19 seats in its second term. It won a plurality of seats in the Senate at the 2025 election, though has never held a majority of seats in the upper house.

Albanese succeeded the Morrison government after the Liberal–National Coalition was defeated at the 2022 election, and saw the first Labor government to be elected at the federal level since the Rudd government was defeated at the 2013 election. The Albanese government went on win a landslide victory in the 2025 federal election, making Albanese the first Prime Minister to serve a full term and win another since John Howard's victory at the 2004 election.

The Turnbull government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 29th prime minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, from 2015 to 2018. It succeeded the Abbott government, which brought the Coalition to power at the 2013 Australian federal election. The government consisted of members of Australia's Liberal-Nationals Coalition. Turnbull took office by challenging his leader, Tony Abbott, in an internal leadership ballot. Warren Truss, the leader of the Nationals, served as deputy prime minister until he retired in 2016 and was replaced by Barnaby Joyce. Joyce resigned in February 2018 and the Nationals' new leader Michael McCormack became deputy prime minister. The Turnbull government concluded with Turnbull's resignation ahead of internal leadership ballot which saw him succeeded as prime minister by Scott Morrison and the Morrison government.

In mounting his 2015 public challenge for the leadership, Turnbull cited extended poor polling in Newspoll by the Abbott government and said Australia needed a new style of "economic leadership". Turnbull appointed Morrison as Treasurer in an expanded ministry, promoting several key supporters. Julie Bishop remained as Minister for Foreign Affairs. Conservatives Tony Abbott, Eric Abetz and Kevin Andrews were sent to the backbench. Joe Hockey left Parliament. The Turnbull government continued a number of Abbott government initiatives, promising a plebiscite legalising same-sex marriage, concluding Abbott era initiatives on an anti-domestic violence campaign, funding the National Disability Insurance Scheme, signing a China free trade deal, and reforming Senate voting.

Sussan Penelope Ley (pron. /ˈsuːzən ˈliː/, "Susan Lee"; née Susan Penelope Braybrooks; born 14 December 1961) is an Australian politician who has served as the Leader of the Opposition and leader of the Liberal Party since May 2025, being the first woman to hold either role. Prior to assuming the party leadership, she was the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and deputy leader of the Liberal Party. Ley served as a cabinet minister in the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments. She also served as a parliamentary secretary in the final term of the Howard government.

Ley was born in Nigeria to English parents and grew up in the Trucial States (now the United Arab Emirates) and England before moving to Australia as a teenager. Prior to entering politics, she worked as a commercial pilot, farmer and public servant based in Albury, New South Wales. She was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2001 federal election representing the regional New South Wales division of Farrer.

Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the Liberal Party from 2022 to 2025. He was the member of parliament (MP) for the Queensland seat of Dickson between the 2001 and 2025 elections. He previously held ministerial office in the Howard, Abbott, Turnbull, and Morrison governments, including as a cabinet minister from 2013 to 2022.

Dutton grew up in Brisbane. He worked as a police officer in the Queensland Police for nearly a decade upon leaving school, and later ran a construction business with his father. He joined the Liberal Party as a teenager and was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2001 election, aged 30. Following the 2004 election, he was appointed as Minister for Employment Participation. In January 2006, Dutton was promoted to Assistant Treasurer under Peter Costello. After the defeat of the Liberal-National Coalition at the 2007 election, he was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Health, a role he held for the next six years.