Labor’s resounding victory in Saturday’s Victoria state election will ‘send shockwaves to Canberra’ and is an ominous sign for the Liberal Party, analysts have predicted.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison was largely absent from the campaign trail in the build-up to the election, in which his party has won just 19 seats to Labor’s 58.
Mr Morrison made only one appearance during the campaign, to pay his respects to the Bourke Street terror attack victims, and Liberal figures have partly blamed the national leadership for alienating Victorian voters.
Labor’s resounding victory in Saturday’s Victoria state election will ‘send shockwaves to Canberra’ and is an ominous sign for the Liberal Party, analysts have predicted (pictured centre, Premier Daniel Andrews gives victory speech to Labor Party reception on Saturday night)
Prime minister Scott Morrison (pictured) was largely absent from the campaign trail in the build-up to the election – making only one appearance to pay his respects to the victims of the November 9 Bourke Street terror attack alongside Victorian Liberal leader Matthew Guy
Labor leader Bill Shorten in contrast was not camera shy on polling day as he was pictured filing his vote in the state election and trying his hand at the barbecue grill with other Labor campaigners.
Ahead of next year’s federal election, political commentators have warned Saturday’s results could spell disaster for Mr Morrison’s government.
Speaking on Sky News, political commentator Andrew Bolt said the win would send ‘shockwaves to Canberra’.
Labor leader Bill Shorten (pictured right with wife Chloe) could be spurred to victory in next year’s federal election by Saturday’s resounding result in Victoria
The conservative analyst also criticised the tone of Victorian Liberal leader Matthew Guy’s campaign – saying the party was too heavily relying on the campaign strategy of ‘scaring people’.
Mr Bolt’s warning came as Premier Daniel Andrews claimed in his victory speech that Victorians had turned away from the Liberals ‘low road of fear and division’.
A senior Liberal MP told Fairfax Media, meanwhile, foreign affairs minister Peter Dutton had damaged the party’s support in the state by saying Victorians were ‘scared to go out’ as a result of ‘African gang violence’.
Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger said the ‘disorderly’ nature of August’s leadership coup to depose Malcolm Turnbull had worked against the party in the state.
Conservative analyst Andrew Bolt criticised the tone of Mr Guy’s (left) campaign – saying the party was relying too heavily on the campaign strategy of ‘scaring people’
Opposition leader Matthew Guy (pictured) was gracious in defeat on Saturday night
Premier Daniel Andrews (right) claimed in his victory speech Victorians had turned away from the Liberals ‘low road of fear and division’
But Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was quick to say the result could not be blamed on Canberra.
‘From a federal perspective, we also note that we won the last two state elections in South Australia and Tasmania,’ Mr Frydenberg told the ABC.
‘Scott Morrison and I and other federal colleagues didn’t play an active role in this campaign, and it was fought on state (issues).’
Mr Frydenberg admitted, however, that the party ‘have a lot of work to do’ before the federal election due by next May.
He’s back! Daniel Andrews paid tribute to his wife of 20 years Cath and children Noah, Grace and Joseph in his election victory speech
A defeated Matthew Guy still had a smile for wife Renae despite a devastating night in the polls
Former premier Jeff Kennett has called for Mr Kroger to stand down.
Mr Kroger declined.
‘No. Jeff is always calling on people to resign…we take those comments with a grain of salt,’ he told Channel Seven.
Re-elected Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was congratulated by his mother Jan during the Labor Party reception
Mr Kennett then told Kroger: ‘Time is up, quite clearly. This has been a terrible result for the party. Mate, we’ve been around for a long time. It’s time you went.’
Mr Kroger responded: ‘No one called on you to resign after you lost the 1985 election. The party membership just re-elected me and I’ve got their confidence.’
Just after 9pm and three hours after voting closed, Mr Guy addressed the Liberal party faithful in a gracious election defeat speech, where he called for party unity.
Labor supporters celebrated after the party was returned to government on Saturday night
Celebrations were far more subdued at the Liberal election party (pictured)
‘I say for the next parliament, as a party, we need to stick together. We need to stay united and we need to stay focused on our opponents and the game ahead, not on ourselves and I hope we’ll continue to do that,’ Mr Guy said.
‘Every day in opposition is a day closer to government and while tonight is not our night, we know that our time in the sun will come again.’
Meanwhile at the, a Labor crowd of more than 100 red-shirt-clad Labor supporters were chanting ‘four more years’ as the tally of seats continued to climb at a party function in the seat of Mulgrave.
Liberal party supporters in Victoria have experienced a second consecutive election loss
‘This is looking like a bloodbath,’ Labor Health Minister Jill Hennessy said on ABC TV earlier in the night.
‘Something has gone very, very wrong here with the Liberal brand and reflecting upon what that is, I also think that due credit needs to be given to Daniel Andrews for running a very strong government for four years.’
Former Labor premier John Brumby said Mr Andrews should be lauded for the result.
Celebrations ensued at Daniel Andrews’ election party in his seat of Mulgrave
Celebrations at The Village Green Hotel in Mulgrave continued well into the night as Labor supporters celebrated the Victorian election win
‘He’ll be in the pantheon of Labor leaders up there with Steve Bracks and John Cain,’ he told the ABC.
Shadow Treasurer Michael O’Brien slammed the re-elected Andrews government on Channel Nine’s election coverage.
‘Victors tend to write history… were they not watching the TV ads were they were attacking Matthew Guy? Did they not see the last four years where they tore up parliamentary privilege, and legal professional privilege to dump documents to attack Matthew Guy?’ he said.
Daniel Andrews and his wife Catherine arrived to a rock star reception on election night in Melbourne
‘This party has broken every rule in the book to attack and demonise the electorate. Sadly some of it appears to have flowed through in the results tonight.’
The beers were flowing, the crowd was cheering and a slight feel of disbelief at the size of the potential win had taken over the Labor Party function room on Saturday evening.
Labor is seeing swings in seats that were marginal four years ago and even in formerly safe Liberal strongholds.
The Liberal Party faithful were drowning their sorrows at the Liberal election party
‘I am surprised at the degree of the swing out in the eastern suburbs. We’re also hearing some very positive news around some of the swings in both Bass and Ripon,’ Ms Hennessy said.
Celebrations were much more subdued in the Liberal camp as they commiserated a second consecutive election loss.
Held at the Veneto Club in leader Matthew Guy’s electorate of Bulleen, in Melbourne’s northeast, the Italian-themed social club is a favourite of the Guy family.
Former premier Jeff Kennett has called for state Liberal president Michael Kroger to stand down after Labor’s resounding victory
Attorney General John Pesutto – who is facing a swing to Labor in his traditional Liberal seat of Hawthorn – refused to speculate on Mr Guy’s future as party leader. Pictured, Labor Party supporters celebrate victory on Saturday night