Anthony Albanese has made a triumphant return to the winner's chambers.
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The near identical rooms where opposition and government MPs gather inside Parliament House stand just 165 metres apart, but hosted very different atmospheres on Tuesday.
"You've really struck gold," Mr Albanese, who has spent nearly 20 years in opposition, joked to his large band of newly-elected MPs, who haven't had to endure the struggle of opposition.
"Opposition is not fun at all, so enjoy being part of the government that can make a difference."
The newly-elected government has until Friday to define its position on a "fair" wage increase for the nation's lowest paid employees.
During the election campaign, Mr Albanese said he supported a pay increase for workers earning the minimum wage to match inflation at 5.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, Barnaby Joyce thinks nuclear energy is the way to go.
"Let's be brave enough and start saying things like nuclear energy," he said.
"Otherwise, you're going to come up with this implausible position where you say 'I want to achieve this but I really don't have the technology to do it'.
"I'd love to see the Labor Party come on board with us and not turn it into some sort of ridiculous [sound] bite of: 'You're going to put a nuclear reactor in someone's backyard', which just divides the place up."
Mr Joyce was backing new Nationals leader David Littleproud's calls to shift to nuclear energy.
Frosty weather has engulfed south-east Australia after a cold front and deep low-pressure system brought wild weather on Monday night.
Severe weather warnings for damaging winds remain in place for parts of NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA and the ACT as of Tuesday.
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