Victorians wake up to Labor govt
Victorians are waking up to a third term of the Andrews government after Labor secured a majority in the state’s lower house.
Labor was on track to win at least 49 seats, above the required 45-seat majority and six less than its ‘‘Danslide’’ victory in 2018.
The coalition is poised to secure 24 seats and the Greens at least four.
Eleven seats remained too close to call yesterday morning, although Labor was predicted to win or was ahead in seven of the electorates.
Premier Daniel Andrews promised to govern for every Victorian, including those who did not vote for his party, and described Labor’s victory as a triumph of hope over hate.
He reaffirmed he would serve a full four-year term as leader, making him the longest-serving Victorian Labor premier in history.
But the premier would not be drawn on whether the victory was a moment of vindication after his second term was dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic and his government’s management of it.
‘‘It is not about being vindicated, it is about our positive plan being endorsed,’’ Andrews told ABC TV yesterday morning.
Matthew Guy must now decide whether he stays on as Liberal leader after losing to Andrews in two consecutive elections.
Guy gave no hints about his future as he conceded defeat just before 11pm on Saturday, local time, but remained optimistic about the coalition’s future.
‘‘We intend to hold the government in the next term to account for what they have committed and for the important issues that are raised on behalf of Victorians to them in the Parliament,’’ he told supporters in his electorate of Bulleen.
The latest two-party preferred estimate has Labor leading the coalition 54.3% to 45.7%, a 3% swing towards the LiberalNationals.
Labor’s primary vote (37.1%) has suffered a statewide swing of almost 6% but the Liberals (29.7%) also shed 0.7% from 2018.
The Greens, Nationals and various micro parties have scooped up their primary votes.
The Greens were likely to win at least one extra innerMelbourne seat, which leader Samantha Ratnam described as a ‘‘Greenslide’’.
The party was well ahead of Labor in Richmond yesterday morning, while it remained in the running in Northcote.
Teal independent Melissa Lowe had hoped to win the innerMelbourne seat of Hawthorn against Liberal John Pesutto but she had fallen behind by a few hundred votes as postal ballots rolled in.
Labor gained the seat of Glen Waverley and the newly created seat of Bayswater and was ahead in Hastings but lost Nepean to the Liberals.