Turnbull to form government, Shorten predicts another poll by year's end
Malcolm Turnbull is certain to form government, but it will be days before it is clear if the Prime Minister will have to rely on the crossbench to prop up the Coalition.
After receiving the support of Queensland independent Bob Katter on Thursday, Mr Turnbull received the backing of a second crossbench MP, Victorian independent Cathy McGowan, to give supply and confidence on Friday while a third independent, Tasmanian Andrew Wilkie, made a similar pledge.
Those pledges effectively ensured Mr Turnbull should be able to, at the very least, claim 76 seats and minority government and what is now at issue is whether the Coalition can win 76 seats and form a majority government.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten - who received the unanimous backing of the Labor caucus on Friday to remain leader - predicted Australians would head back to the polls by the end of the year, while admitting the Coalition was set to scrape home.
The Prime Minister faces a fierce fight with the Senate to pass key elements of his budget, with Labor, the Greens, and an expanded Senate crossbench likely to force him to negotiate over his 10-year company tax cut plan.
Sections of the Coalition partyroom remain furious with Mr Turnbull for running what is now widely considered to have been a lacklustre campaign in which the central message on jobs and growth did not cut through, particularly in regional areas.
Coalition MPs have publicly excoriated Labor for its "Mediscare" privatisation campaign. In private, some now concede it worked brilliantly for the opposition.
Despite the disquiet, cabinet ministers and backbenchers have locked in behind Mr Turnbull - other than a disaffected few.