Victorians have sent a message to the Allan government with voters abandoning Labor in its previously safe seat of Werribee, while the Victorian Liberals have pulled ahead of the Greens in Prahran.
By-elections were held in both Melbourne seats on Saturday, with results on a knife edge when the VEC ceased counting in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Labor Premier Jacinta Allan said by-elections gave an opportunity to send a message to the government as she pledged to “do more”. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
Werribee
Labor has held Werribee since 1973, with outgoing MP and former treasurer Tim Pallas winning with a 10.9 per cent margin at the 2022 state election.
But voters in the outer western Melbourne seat have abandoned the party in droves, with Labor’s primary vote falling from 45.4 per cent to just 28.7 per cent.
Victorian Liberal candidate Steve Murphy picked up a 3.7 per cent swing in primary vote for the opposition, with a range of minor parties including Legalise Cannabis Victoria, the Victorian Socialists, and Family First all also picking up votes.
Werribee by Election. State opposition leader Brad Battin hands out how to vote flyers at the polling booth at Manor Lakes P-12 College. Picture: Ian Currie. Picture: Ian Currie
With just over 75 per cent of votes counted, Labor’s John Lister holds a narrow 2PP lead of 50.5 per cent to 49.5 for the Liberal candidate.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan told party faithful that things were “very, very tight” and the seat was likely to go “down to the wire”.
The Premier said by-elections gave an opportunity to send a message to the government.
Prahran
A by-election was also held in the Greens’ held seat of Prahran, in Melbourne’s inner south, after former deputy leader Sam Hibbins resigned after admitting he had a consensual relationship with a member of his staff.
Labor declined to run a candidate in the seat, which is one of the few Greens vs Liberal seats in the state.
With just over two-thirds of the vote counted, Liberal candidate Rachel Westaway holds a 2PP lead of 51.6 per cent to the Greens’ 48.4 per cent.
Greens candidate Angelica Di Camillo currently sits on a primary vote of 36.1 per cent, narrowly down from the party’s result of 36.4 per cent in 2022.
Greens candidate Angelica Di Camillo currently sits on a primary vote of 36.1 per cent but is behind on two-party preferred. Picture: NewsWire/ David Crosling
However the Liberal’s Rachel Westaway has picked up a 5.1 per cent swing, with a primary vote of 36.2 per cent, while Independent and former Labor MP for Prahran Tony Lupton picked up 12.8 per cent of the vote.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin said late on Saturday that the party was “increasingly confident” of winning the seat, although he stopped short of declaring victory.
“There’s still a lot of postal votes outstanding,” Mr Battin said.
“At this very point we are increasingly confident that Rachel Westaway has done enough.”
Sky News
