Australian Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott on Monday began the transition to government, promising a methodical approach as he faced potential hurdles in the upper house to drive through his reform agenda.

The conservative leader, who ended six years of Labor rule on Saturday, held meetings in Canberra to hammer out the way forward, ahead of being sworn in to take over from Kevin Rudd, likely next week.

Australia's election looked set Sunday to bring some quirky candidates to the national parliament, including a billionaire hoping to rebuild the Titanic and a possible senator for motoring enthusiasts.

Early counts left WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange struggling for a place in the Senate, along with former anti-immigration firebrand Pauline Hanson as fresh faces emerged from micro parties.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Saturday conceded defeat to conservative challenger Tony Abbott in Australian elections and said he will step down as Labor leader as voters punished the party for internal warfare.

Some 100 minutes after the polls closed, Rudd mounted the stage in a function room at the Gabba cricket ground in Brisbane to wish his rival well in the "high strain" lifestyle that comes with the leadership.

Conservative challenger Tony Abbott was headed for a sweeping victory over Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Australian elections on Saturday, as voters punished Labor after years of internal party warfare.

With polling booths in the mandatory ballot closed across the country, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation called a clear win for the Liberal/National coalition while several senior Labor ministers conceded the divided party was beaten.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd vowed to fight to the end Friday despite polls showing him heading for an election wipe-out as rival Tony Abbott said he would get straight to work if he wins.

A Galaxy survey in the Sydney Daily Telegraph, a day before voters cast their ballots, found Rudd has failed to make any inroads on the conservative opposition leader.

Sunshine and sandy beaches are all very well, but they are not enough to snare the best expatriate executives to Australia's biggest city Sydney, a study found Monday.

A survey of more than 3,000 executives around the world found that the "dominant issue in deciding where to locate is workplace related", and Sydney must do more to emphasize its desirability as a work destination.

A joint Australian-U.S. Navy dive team recovered bombs dropped by American forces on the Great Barrier Reef during a training exercise in a delicate deep-sea operation, officials said Sunday.

The divers attached balloons to pull the two unarmed GBU-12 laser guided bombs to the surface in a two day deepwater operation involving strong tides, United States and Australian officials said in a statement.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd vowed to fight until "the last vote is cast" in a rousing speech declaring himself the "comeback kid for Australia" Sunday, one week out from national polls.

Rudd urged the party faithful not to give up hope, despite opinion polls showing the Tony Abbott-led conservatives as clear favorites to win the September 7 election.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Tuesday said key naval assets could be relocated north to adapt to a changing security landscape and put personnel nearer to their fields of operation.

Rudd, facing national polls on September 7, said moving Sydney Harbor's Garden Island base to Queensland in the east and Western Australia could improve the nation's ability to sustain operations in the Asia-Pacific.

Indications "point strongly" to the use of chemical weapons in Syria, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Sunday as he urged Damascus to allow U.N. inspectors access to investigate.

Rudd said following reports that more than 350 people had died from possible chemical weapons near Damascus last week, it was up to the Syrian regime to prove it had no hand in it.