‘Down to the wire’: Vote-counting continues in dual Victorian by-elections with results too close to call

Dual by-elections in Victoria are too close to call but Werribee appears to be no longer a safe Labor seat and the Greens are trailing the Liberals in the Prahran electorate.

If Labor lose the seat of Werribee, it would be for the first time since 1979.

Political pundits will be scouring the results for clues about Labor’s electoral fortunes at state and federal levels.

The two Victorian polls in Werribee in Melbourne’s west and Prahran in the city’s inner east marked the first time Premier Jacinta Allan and new Opposition Leader Brad Battin had been put to the test at the ballot box.

Labor traditionally holds Werribee but the party has slipped in the polls.

The resignation of former treasurer Tim Pallas triggered the by-election.

Early on Sunday morning, Liberal candidate Steve Murphy had 29.04 per cent of the primary vote with Labor’s John Lister on 28.71 per cent.

Mr Murphy (49.45 per cent) was trailing Mr Lister (50.55) on a two-candidate-preferred basis.

Speaking at the Labor Party function at 10pm last night, Premier Jacinta Allan received a chorus of cheers and applause, and gave credit to MR Lister but noted, “We have to be clear, it is still a tight night”.

“There is still a way to go tonight,” she told the audience clad in red shirts.

“It is going down to the wire.”

Ms Allan said by-elections were tough, but an opportunity for the community to send a message to the government, and having knocked on 21,000 doors and made 9000 calls during the campaign, it was “absolutely clear” that the Government needed to do more in Werribee to address cost-of-living and crime fears.

The Liberals had hoped to secure an upset win there and also bag Prahran, a Greens stronghold up for grabs after MP Sam Hibbins quit in disgrace following revelations he had an affair with a staffer.

Speaking at the Prahran Hotel around 11pm laste night, Opposition Leader Brad Battin announced the party was “increasingly confident” in winning the seat for Prahran.

“There’s still a lot of postal votes outstanding,” he said.

“At this very point we are increasingly confident that Rachel Westaway has done enough.

“Thank you so much for each and every person in this room.”

Early on Sunday morning, Liberal Rachel Westaway had 36.24 per cent of the primary vote with Greens candidate Angelica Di Camillo, an environmental engineer and climate strategist, on 36.18 per cent.

Former tribunal member Ms Westaway (51.6 per cent) was ahead of Ms Di Camillo (48.4 per cent) on a two-candidate-preferred basis.

Labor did not run a candidate in Prahran.

Cost-of-living emerged as the main concern for voters, along with housing attainability.

The Victorian Liberals also campaigned heavily on crime, with high-profile murders and knife attacks in Prahran and Werribee attracting attention in recent months.

Ms Allan touted her government’s cost-of-living support measures as she backed Labor’s Werribee candidate, local teacher and CFA volunteer John Lister, calling the opposition divided after a December leadership spill.

Mr Battin hit back, accusing the government of acting more like an opposition as he campaigned for his party’s candidate, former policeman and army trooper Steve Murphy.

Some 104,000 people were enrolled in the two areas, with 28 per cent of Prahran voters and 29 per cent of those in Werribee casting ballots early or by post.