Victorian voters head to the polls as Liberals eye by-election upsets
Jacinta Allan is facing a test of her premiership as tens of thousands of Victorians head to the polls for dual by-elections.
The Victorian Liberals are aiming to cause boilovers on Saturday in state by-election battles with Labor in Werribee and the Greens in Prahran.
The seat of Werribee in Melbourne’s west has come up for grabs after the retirement of long-time treasurer Tim Pallas at the end of 2024.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.It has been a Labor stronghold since 1979 and was held by Mr Pallas on a 10.9 per cent margin in 2022.
But with Labor sliding in the polls and support waning in the outer suburbs, pollsters believe it could be up for grabs.
“The Victorian Liberals have been doing well in the outer suburbs, particularly the outer western suburbs,” said election analyst Ben Raue of the Tally Room.
“That could be the kind of seat where you could see a backlash (and) they could lose.”
The Liberals have chosen former policeman and army trooper Steve Murphy to go up against local school teacher and volunteer firefighter John Lister for Labor.
A swing of seven per cent in Werribee would be a pass mark for Labor but anything more would be problematic for Ms Allan, former Liberal strategist turned pollster Tony Barry said.
“If the Liberals were to win - which would still be an extraordinary effort - that’s going to send shock waves through the Victorian body politic,” the RedBridge director said.
Cost of living is the dominant issue among 65 per cent of voters, with housing attainability adding another 15 per cent.
They were unprecedented numbers, Mr Barry said.
“In many ways they’re intertwined,” he added.
“You can’t put down a deposit if you can’t save.”
Prahran, on the other hand, will be a two-way battle between the Greens and Liberals after Labor decided not to run a candidate.
Mr Raue is more reticent on the Liberals’ chances in the inner southeast Melbourne seat, which the Greens, Labor and Liberals have all held over the past two decades.
Greens MP Sam Hibbins held the seat on a 12 per cent margin in 2022 but quit in disgrace following revelations he had an affair with a staffer.
His would-be Greens replacement Angelica Di Camillo, a environmental engineer, climate strategist and campaigner, is expected to face the stiffest challenge from Liberal candidate Rachel Westaway.
