![Parliament House in Canberra, ACT. [Image via helen35 - Pixabay]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2019/6/19/660x290/b_502x220x82/parliament-house-in-canberra-act-image-via-helen35-pixabay_2281249.jpg "Parliament House in Canberra, ACT. [Image via helen35 - Pixabay]")
Prime Minister Scott Morrison's coalition government secured an upset victory in May's election. The coalition is made up of Morrison's Liberal Party, which is actually conservative, and the National Party. Unity between the parties has lasted for decades. They're often referred to simply as 'The Coalition' and treated as one party.
Polls had favored the Labor Party coming into the election. But the Liberal-National Coalition secured a majority in the House of Representatives, the lower house of Australia's Parliament. As such, Morrison would remain the prime minister.
Results have now been tallied for races ran for the upper house, the Senate, SBS News reports. A majority of Senate seats were up for election, though not the entirety.
Liberal-National Coalition gains Senate seats
In a further blow to the Labor Party, the Coalition has boosted its total of seats in the Senate. The Coalition had already held a plurality of seats. It still hasn't won an outright majority in the Senate, but its numbers have improved. There are also several senators who are members of smaller conservatives parties. Though not technically members of the Coalition, they are expected to generally support Morrison's government. Support from these senators would give the Coalition a practical majority in the Senate.
The Coalition garnered the most votes in every state. Labor did manage to finish in first place in two of the territories. The Australian makes particular note of Queensland. Queensland is considered to be Australia's primary swing state. The Labor Party took heavy losses in the state. In the end, the party has been left with one remaining senator in Queensland.
News of stronger numbers is likely especially welcome for Morrison. He looks to soon try to push through controversial tax cuts in the Parliament. Tax cuts were a key platform that Morrison and his coalition campaigned on. The cuts aimed at the middle-class are expected to receive bipartisan support. However, planned cuts for the upper-class could be a very different story.
Australia has a unique electoral system
Australia utilizes two electoral systems. Members of the House of Representatives are chosen through a preferential voting system. Voters are to pick their first choice of candidates on the ballot, along with their second and third choices. Preferences are sorted out and a winner is ultimately selected.
The Senate uses a similar but different system. For the Senate, voters are also allowed to choose in order of preference. However, instead of individual candidates, the pick from the parties themselves. How many senators a party wins in a state is proportioned by the percentages of votes it receives.
The parties choose which candidate is their number one candidate, which candidate is their number two and so on. Thus, if they only win one seat in a state, their number one candidate wins the seat. This pattern continues for whatever the number the party wins.
