News Analysis: Abbott wins election to lead Australia, economy on top of agenda

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CANBERRA, Sept. 8 -- Australian voters elected Liberal- National coalition leader Tony Abbott to be the country's new prime minister (PM) on Saturday, ending center-left Labor's six years rule.

Abbott, a Rhodes Scholar and former trainee priest and journalist, promised to restore political stability, cut taxes and crack down on asylum seekers arriving by boat.

Prime Minister-elect Abbott said he was already "getting down to business" after winning the election with a national swing of 3. 5 percent.

"This is essentially a working day," he said on Sunday morning.

"People expect that, the day after an election, an incoming government will be getting down to business. And that's what I'll be doing today."

Labor's overall election result was at its worse since 2004, when then conservative PM John Howard won his fourth and final term.

Election officials said with about 80 percent of the vote counted, Abbott's Liberal-National coalition had won around 52.6 percent of the national vote, and projected it would win at least 88 seats in the 150-seat parliament.

Labor's Kevin Rudd announced he would step down as leader, following years of leadership infighting that contributed to the government's election loss.

The front-runner to lead the Labor party in opposition, Bill Shorten, said the process to replace Kevin Rudd will be free of " rancour" and "division."

In his first week in office, PM-elect Abbott said he will instruct the public service to repeal the carbon and mining tax, and give more direction to begin his border protection plan.

Abbott campaigned heavily around the need for a military response to deal with the issue of people smugglers and border protection. He is expected to appoint a three-star military commander soon to oversee a joint agency taskforce including all 12 agencies involved in border security, including Coastwatch and Customs.

Abbott has long opposed pricing carbon through any kind of emissions trading scheme and favored a Direct Action Plan that involves paying companies to increase their energy efficiency and funding schemes to replenish soil carbons and plant 20 million trees.

The Liberal-National coalition has also pledged to remove the 30 percent mining tax introduced by Labor in a bid to curb investment going overseas.

By the end of his first term, Abbott has promised to get the budget on track to surplus and have the National Disability Insurance Scheme operating in large parts of every state.

The election was pitched as a choice on who is best to lead the 1.5 trillion AU dollar (1.36 trillion U.S. dollar) economy as it adjusts to an end of a prolonged mining investment boom, fuelled by China's demand for natural resources.

After years of attacking Labor's economic management, ensuring the budget consistently moves towards a surplus under his government will be a key factor in Abbott's term.

He and likely Treasurer Joe Hockey will inherit a budget deficit of about 30 billion (27.4 billion U.S. dollars) and face structural budget problems, including the impact of falling labor force participation due to an aging population.

The national accounts, released last week showing growth of just 2.6 percent in the past 12 months down from 3.7 percent a year ago, returned the management of the economy to the center of the election debate.

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