Anthony Albanese is about to face his first major test as Australia's new Prime Minister, spending his first full day in office on the world stage.
Mr Albanese flew to Japan yesterday, soon after being sworn into office alongside four of his most senior colleagues.
During the flight, Mr Albanese had a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson where the two discussed the AUKUS agreement and the challenges of responding to climate change.
The new PM is in Tokyo with Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong to meet with the leaders of Japan, India and the United States for a meeting of the Quad.
Mr Albanese was sworn in as Prime Minister earlier in the day, despite votes still being counted, to ensure he could attend the meeting in person.
The four countries are expected to unveil a new plan designed to monitor and prevent illegal fishing across the region, which environmentalists have blamed largely on massive Chinese shipping fleets.
Quad leaders will also discuss China's growing military aggression, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, climate change and the Quad's ambitious plan to distribute COVID-19 vaccines around the region.
Crucially, Mr Albanese will also hold individual bilateral meetings with US President Joe Biden, Indian President Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The Governor-General also swore in Richard Marles as Deputy Prime Minister, Jim Chalmers as Treasurer and Katy Gallagher as Finance Minister.
They will share all the ministries on an interim basis until the full frontbench is finalised after a Caucus meeting early next week.
Back home, vote counting is continuing and Labor is edging closer to reaching the 76 votes needed to govern in majority.
Labor will not form a majority in the Senate and will need the support of the Greens and likely two other crossbenchers to pass its legislation without the Coalition's support.
Mr Albanese has pledged to have his full ministry sworn-in next Wednesday. In the meantime, he has to select at least two new cabinet ministers after former frontbenchers Kristina Keneally and Terri Butler lost at the weekend.
Labor will also have to pick a new deputy Senate leader to serve alongside Senator Wong.
Senator Keneally, a member of the Right faction, previously held that role but vacated it to seek a Lower House seat.
Pressure is on the party to ensure it is a woman, given two men lead the party in the Lower House, but party sources concede there is not an obvious woman from the right faction.
Left faction frontbencher, and new Finance Minister, Katy Gallagher is an obvious candidate but yesterday would not comment if she would get the job — something that would likely require a trade with the Right faction.
"Those are matters, internally, for the Labor Party through our Caucus process and I am not going to stand here and pre-empt any of those discussions," Senator Gallagher said.
Liberal Party and Nationals leaderships up for grabs
The Liberal Party is on the hunt for its next leader to replace former prime minister Scott Morrison. Former defence minister Peter Dutton is emerging as the most likely replacement.
The race is also on for the Liberal deputy role, with former social services minister Anne Ruston, a senator, among the contenders.
Former home affairs minister Karen Andrews and marginal Tasmanian MP Bridget Archer have both said they were considering nominating for deputy.
Some in the party are pushing for a woman to serve as deputy as the party seeks to rebuild its relationship with women.
Independent women in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, often dubbed teals, caused some of the biggest damage to the Liberals, winning once-safe heartland Coalition seats.
The Nationals' leadership is also on the line.
The party has a ballot for leader after each election, irrespective of the outcome.
Incumbent and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce is seeking to stay in the job and points to the Nationals holding all its seats as a reason he should continue.
But Nationals were already canvassing Mr Joyce's future as leader even before the election outcome. His deputy, David Littleproud, appears to be the frontrunner, while former leader Michael McCormack has previously flagged he would be eager to return to the job.
