44th Parliament of Australia starts in Canberra

The 44th Parliament of Australia started on Tuesday morning with a Welcome to Country and indigenous smoking ceremony in the Great Hall of Parliament House, Canberra.

New members of the House of Representatives and the Senate will swear in on Tuesday and the Governor-General will address both houses to review the state of the nation and forecast the Abbott government's legislative program on Tuesday afternoon.

Tuesday's events are ceremonial and procedural. According to the local media, that program won't begin immediately, however, with legislation including bills for the repeal of the carbon tax expected to be introduced on Wednesday.

Last Monday, The Australian Election Commission (AEC) confirmed the result with all 150 seats of the House of Representatives and the final seats of the Senate in the 2013 election.

According to that result from the AEC, all 150 House of Representatives seats have been declared, including 90 seats of the Coalition, 55 seats of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), 1 seat of the Australian Greens, 1 seat of Katter's Australian Party, 1 seat of Palmer United Party and 2 seats of independent candidates.

And all seats of the Senate also have been declared, including 33 seats of the Coalition, 26 seats of the ALP, 9 seats of the Greens, 9 seats of the Democratic Labour Party and 7 seats of other small parties.