LATEST: Bill Shorten has been elected Labor leader.
Mr Shorten, 46, of the right faction, is the first Labor leader to be elected under rules introduced by former prime minister Kevin Rudd, in which the result of a ballot of the Labor rank and file is weighted equally against a ballot of Labor MPs.
The result was announced by the party via twitter.
“Proud to announce that @BillShortenmp has been elected the new #LaborLeader!” the party tweeted.
Interim leader Chris Bowen said Mr Shorten had won 63.95 per cent of the caucus vote and 40.08 per cent of the vote of 30,426 party members, giving him an overall vote of 52.02%.
About 74 per cent of Labor members voted in the ballot.
Mr Shorten’s opponent, Anthony Albanese, 50, of the left faction won 59.92 per cent of the rank and file vote and 31 of the 86 Labor MPs.
Interim leader Chris Bowen predicted Mr Shorten would go on to become the next Labor prime minister of Australia.
‘‘Bill Shorten is a man who has dedicated his working life to representing vulnerable people and to representing this nation,’’ he told reporters in Canberra.
Mr Bowen also paid tribute to Mr Albanese saying he still had a ‘‘significant contribution’’ to make in parliament.
