How climate change decided Australia's election

Australian Labor leader Bill Shorten will forever have the ignominious label of the man who lost the unlosable election – Australia’s answer to Neil Kinnock. After six years of the conservative Liberal-National coalition government, and three different prime ministers, Labor were considered the clear favourite to win Saturday’s general election.

The government had been wracked with disunity over climate change and same-sex marriage and were governing in a minority for the past nine months. The Liberal party also saw several high-profile retirements in the lead up to the election as MPs started jumping off what they thought was a sinking ship.

Newspoll, Australia’s largest political poll, had Labor in front for three consecutive years; while the country’s largest bookmaker paid out all bets placed on Labor winning the election days before the poll.