Labor looks set to earn another four years in government as Victorians line up to cast their votes in Saturday’s state election.
Premier Daniel Andrews has a clear advantage in latest opinion poll released the morning of the election giving Labor a 53.5 per cent to 46.5 per cent lead on a two-party preferred basis.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy was one of more than 1.6 million voters who cast their ballots early, but showed up at a polling station in Eltham as his parents Vera and Chris voted.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy was one of more than 1.6 million voters who cast their ballots early, but showed up at a polling station in Eltham as his parents Vera and Chris voted
Mr Guy grabbed a traditional sausage sizzle from volunteers outside the booth – but in another ominous sign for his election bid he put the onions on top of his sausage
Mr Guy grabbed a traditional sausage sizzle from volunteers outside the booth – but in another ominous sign for his election bid he put the onions on top of his sausage.
Onion placement became a hot-button issue earlier this month when Bunnings advised charities and community groups running sausage sizzle fundraisers outside its stores to put them below the sausage.
The advice, which the hardware chain said was just a suggestion, was to prevent people slipping on spilled onions and injuring themselves. Bunnings settled at least one lawsuit arising from an onion injury.
Mr Guy attempted to stay upbeat despite staring down the barrel of an election loss, and at least had the faith of his mother.
‘As a mother of course I think he’s going to win. He’s worked very hard,’ Ms Guy said at the ballot box.
Mr Guy was with his parents who were voting at Sherbourne Primary School for Mr Guy’s childhood friend Nick McGowan, who is hoping to unseat Labor incumbent Vicki Ward for the seat of Eltham
The couple were voting at Sherbourne Primary School for Mr Guy’s childhood friend Nick McGowan, who is hoping to unseat Labor incumbent Vicki Ward for the seat of Eltham.
‘We can win seats today. It is going to be a tough road. We know that. But nothing worthwhile is easy,’ he told reporters on Saturday morning.
Mr Guy got a frosty reception at his old school, which he first attended in 1979 and took pleasure in giving the media a tour of, with some voters taunting him.
Some made jokes about lobsters, in reference to Mr Guy having a secret lobster dinner with alleged Mafia boss and longtime Liberal donor Tony Madafferi and three of his relatives last year.
The scandal that erupted after revelations of the dinner made headlines almost toppled Mr Guy from his post as opposition leader, but he was able to recover and lead the Coalition to the election.
Another voter shook his hand but told him he ‘didn’t have a hope in hell’, but a smiling Mr Guy put on a positive face throughout his visit to the polls.
‘We’ve done a lot of that, more than we ever have before, much more than our opponents and we hope that it bears fruit tonight,’ he said.
Premier Daniel Andrews (seen voting with his with Catherine) has a clear advantage in latest opinion poll released the morning of the election giving Labor a 53.5 per cent to 46.5 per cent lead on a two-party preferred basis
The coalition needs a uniform swing of around three per cent to pick up the extra seven seats it needs to form a majority government in the 88-seat parliament.
Labor holds 45 seats to the Coalition’s 38 and the Greens’ three, and wants to build on its one-seat majority, but would be in trouble if it were to lose just two of its seats.
The latest Newspoll indicated a two-party preferred Labor victory of 53.5 per cent, leaving the Liberal-Nationals with 46.5 per cent.
The poll, which was conducted on November 21 and 22, had 41 per cent of the primary vote going to Labor, 40 to the Liberal-Nationals and 11 to the Greens.
Other pre-election polls published in The Age and Herald Sun delivered similar results, predicting Labor as the winner.
Mr Andrews and Mr Guy were out on Saturday pitching their last-minute plea to the more than two million Victorians who were still to cast their votes when polls opened at 8am.
Mr Andrews is urging voters to mark their Labor candidate number one on the ballot paper to ensure stability for the next four years
Mr Andrews is urging voters to mark their Labor candidate number one on the ballot paper to ensure stability for the next four years.
He again ruled out any deals with the Greens if they fall short, describing the party’s culture as toxic.
‘We need a strong, stable majority Labor government in this state and I would urge for all Victorians to vote for their local Labor candidate so we can keep on investing in the road, rail, and school infrastructure we need,’ he told 9 News on Saturday.
Despite a rough end to their election campaign with multiple candidates coming under fire for unethical behaviour, the Greens remain hopeful of forming a minority government with Labor.
The party hopes to hold on to its inner-city electorates of Melbourne, Prahran and Northcote, and to gain Richmond and Brunswick.
Counting starts at 6pm when booths closed. The Victorian Electoral Commission will also be counting the pre-poll ballots on Saturday night.