The defeated opposition Labor party had ambitious targets for renewable energy, but Morrison rejected efforts to increase the use of renewables to generate electricity, arguing it would damage the economy which relies on coal-fired power and mining exports.
Climate change had been a divisive issue in the run-up to the election — and for years in the country. Battered by extended droughts, damaging floods, and more bushfires, Australian voters were expected to hand a mandate to the Labor party. A coal pit of the Hazelwood coal-fired power plant stands in Hazelwood, Australia, on Thursday, March 30, 2017.But the energy sector may yet see more uncertainty ahead, experts said.
"Given that several of the new centrist cross-bench members have promised strong action on climate change, we may see Morrison caught between his own party's right-wing and the independents keeping the government in office," said Sam Roggeveen, director of the Lowy Institute's International Security Program.
The pressure on coal miners has probably eased, but a wait-and-see approach should be taken for energy policies, John Milroy, an investment advisor at Australian private wealth management group Ord Minnett, told CNBC Monday.