Category Archives: Victoria

Victoria’s Liberals need to define who they are before deciding who can lead them back from oblivion

Posted on by

With a primary vote sitting on 29.7% – its lowest result since 1952 – it’s clear the party’s problems run deep

Victoria’s Liberals might be searching for a new leader but it’s clear from Saturday’s emphatic election loss that the party needs more than a new face to become electorally competitive in the state once more.

On Sunday the opposition leader, Matthew Guy, announced he would step down after leading his party to a second crushing defeat, with this loss arguably worse than the 2018 “Danslide”.Despite Liberal party headquarters reporting in the latter stages of the campaign that it had “narrowed the gap” on Labor, at the time of writing, the Liberals were on track to win 16 seats – a net loss of one.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews vindicated in Victorian election that became a referendum on his pandemic response

Posted on by

Labor’s win allows Andrews to reshape his legacy, with his third term allowing him to become the party’s longest-serving premier

If the Victorian election was indeed – as the opposition framed it – a referendum on Daniel Andrews, voters have resoundingly backed the premier and his response to the pandemic.

At the time of writing, Labor looks on track to secure 50 of Victoria’s 88 lower house seats, just five short of its emphatic 2018 “Danslide” victory.

Continue reading...

Victorian Liberal party left shellshocked after another heavy election defeat

Posted on by

Opposition leader Matthew Guy concedes the Coalition has ‘a lot of work to do’ after losing six of past seven elections

The Victorian opposition, leader Matthew Guy, has conceded the Coalition has “a lot of work to do” after the party lost its third successive election to Labor’s Daniel Andrews.

While Labor’s primary vote fell about 5.6% statewide, the Coalition failed to capitalise on it, with the Liberal party in particular going backwards and recording a primary vote below 30%.

Continue reading...

‘Greenslide’: Victorian Greens celebrate election success while two teals lead knife-edge contests

Posted on by

Greens look likely to gain at least two seats and outperform expectations in a number of other electorates

The Victorians Greens are claiming a “Greenslide” result after recording an increased primary voteand gaining a likely two seats, with maybe more to come as counting progresses in Saturday’s election.

Teal independents were also leading in two tight contests on Saturday night, with Melissa Lowe slightly ahead of former Liberal shadow attorney general John Pesutto in Hawthorn. In Mornington, Kate Lardner – who isolated from her supporters after testing positive to Covid – was also slightly ahead of former federal Liberal MP Chris Crewther.

Continue reading...

Victorian election 2022 live results: premier Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy make final pitches as state polls set to close – latest updates

Posted on by

The Liberal leader needs to pick up 18 seats to form government outright in the Vic state election. Who is winning? Follow all the latest news, results, analysis and reaction tonight

Matthew Guy says he would redivert $2bn allocated to the Suburban Rail Loop

Returning to Victoria again, opposition leader Matthew Guy has appeared on Weekend Sunrise to say he hopes he’s convinced voters of his “positive and focused” plan.

Everywhere I have been on pre-polling booths ... this week, people are pretty clear they want the fresh start.

We want a reboot in this state, we want to come out of Covid-19 and put aside all the dark memories of the past, like the government that put us there.

Continue reading...

No matter who wins, both major parties have made this Victorian poll the Daniel Andrews election

Posted on by

Sources say the Liberal strategy of focusing the campaign around the premier is working, with Labor unsure of how to respond

Since Matthew Guy returned to the leadership of the Victorian Liberals last year, he’s taken inspiration from Labor leaders in his pursuit to win government.

He’s looked to the west, where Mark McGowan first led Labor to a crushing defeat before a landslide victory; and to South Australia, where Peter Malinauskas won government in March after a health-centric campaign

Continue reading...

Catholic charity tells Victorian domestic violence survivor to consider move to a rooming house

Posted on by

Mother of two urged to free up crisis accommodation for others amid a huge blowout in social housing wait times

A domestic violence survivor has been told by her emergency housing provider that she should consider moving with her two children and their pets into a rooming house to free up the accommodation for other victims, as huge blowouts in social housing wait times continue to affect vulnerable Victorians.

Ms Stewart, who asked that her first name not be printed, entered crisis accommodation run by the charity Good Shepherd at the height of Victoria’s Covid-19 lockdowns last year.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Facebook reinstates Victorian Labor’s ‘Matthew Guy’ page used for ad attacks after marking it as satire

Posted on by

Labor spent more than $116,000 boosting attack ads using page before Facebook took it down due to alleged breach of policies

Facebook removed a Facebook page titled “Matthew Guy– The Liberal Cuts Guy” operated by the Victorian Labor party because it allegedly breached the platform’s integrity and identity policy, and has only reinstated the page once it was clearly marked as satire.

Labor spent more than $116,000 boosting attack ads using the page, criticising the Liberal leader’s record in government and his election policies. It is now showering key electorates in anti-Greens ads via another dedicated Facebook page ahead of Saturday’s Victorian election.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Victoria election 2022 report card, week four: a debate, the challenge for pollsters and the sprint to the finish line

Posted on by

Three guest panellists give their verdict on how the parties performed in the final week of the campaign

We are down to the wire. The polls are different enough to cause anxiety all round, but they agree on the trends: an increased vote for the Greens, independents and minor parties, and a turn away from Labor – though not enough to mean defeat.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Victoria’s major parties look to contingency funds as part of election commitment costings

Posted on by

Both Labor and the Coalition claim they could achieve forecast surpluses after releasing their costings

Victoria’s major parties have released the costings of their promises – despite the Coalition initially being unable to quantify the total amount committed and Labor’s document not providing timelines to provide major health and transport projects.

Less than two days out from Saturday’s election, the parties have also revealed they intend to draw on contingency funds – which are usually set aside to cover unforeseen circumstances – in order to prop up the state’s finances and achieve budget surpluses.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Victorians face a choice of major parties determined to spend their way to power, analysts say

Posted on by

The state suffered country’s sharpest economic slowdown due to long lockdowns, requiring bigger fiscal repair job, one expert says

Profligate Coalition spending promises, a “build bigger” Labor campaign, and limited efforts by either major political party to rein in debt dominate the economic choices facing Victorians as they go to the polls, analysts say.

Victoria, which generates just under a quarter of Australia’s annual GDP, suffered the sharpest economic slowdown in the nation because of its lengthy lockdowns, leaving it with a bigger fiscal repair job, according to rating agency S&P.

Continue reading...

‘Not here to have a fight’: Victorian political leaders ditch aggression for debate amid cut-throat campaign

Posted on by

Offered opportunities to attack in Sky News debate, Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy each sought to be more civil than the other

There was a point, about halfway into the only debate ahead of the Victorian state election between Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy, that summed up the entire affair.

“I’m not here to have a fight, I’m here to answer questions,” the opposition leader said in a monotone.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Rape case against Victorian police officer collapses in blow to force’s new family violence unit

Posted on by

Prosecutors said there was not a reasonable chance of conviction in case, brought by taskforce hailed as Australian-first

A rape case involving a Victorian police officer has collapsed, in a blow to a new dedicated taskforce set up to investigate serious family violence allegations within the force.

A male senior constable had been charged with one count of rape and another of sexual touching without consent allegedly committed in August 2019.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Victorian Nationals candidate who died days before election was facing sexual assault charges

Posted on by

Shaun Gilchrist, candidate for Narracan, was due to face court on 30 November charged with one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault

A Victorian National party candidate who had been due to face court on rape charges has died days before the state election.

Shaun David Gilchrist was expected before court on 30 November charged with one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault ahead of a trial that had been scheduled for next year.

In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org

Continue reading...

Woman found videos of herself being raped while asleep in partner’s inbox, court hears

Posted on by

Partner pleads guilty to three charges of sexual assault, two charges of rape, will be sentenced as serious sexual offender

Suspecting her fiance was cheating on her, a Melbourne woman logged into his email account. There she found videos of him raping her as she slept, prosecutors have told the Victorian county court.

The man she trusted in a relationship for more than two years has admitted raping her seven times and sexually assaulting her 21 times without her knowledge.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org

Continue reading...

Fears of Sydney water restrictions as only 25% of Warragamba Dam catchment deemed safe to drink

Posted on by

Sydney Water says filtration systems under extreme pressure amid floods, as all Melbourne beaches declared unsuitable for swimming

Just a quarter of Sydney’s largest drinking water catchment, the Warragamba Dam, is safe for consumption, prompting fears residents will need to conserve water.

Ben Blayney, the head of water supply and production at Sydney Water, said the past year’s floods had placed extreme pressure on the city’s water filtration system.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Flood warnings in Victoria and NSW – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Birmingham against a windfall tax for oil and gas companies

Birmingham says he is opposed to a windfall tax for oil and gas companies to help assist with rising energy prices.

We don’t think that simply slugging a tax in relation to companies is going to do anything for the energy prices of Australians. You’ve got to fix supply in the gas market to provide for genuine outcomes there, and those types of taxes will actually only hurt you in the longer term because they will act as an investment disincentive and you have less supply for the future.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has previously said limiting global heating to 1.5C as set out in the Paris agreement meant there can be no new oil, gas or coal investment beyond 2021.

A windfall tax is not about shoring up gas supplies, but generating revenue which can re-invested in new renewable energy projects and other decarbonisation projects.

I strongly support recognition and have done for many years and, of course, the debate around the voice has come along subsequent to early efforts to try to achieve Indigenous recognition. When it comes to the model for the Voice, I do think Australians deserve to see more detail and have more answers about how it will work, how it will be constituted and how it will make a difference. I understand the very passionate views by those who argue for the voice and I don’t wish to see them disrespected in any way, but I also acknowledge that there are strong Indigenous views of doubt and question about whether the voice will be actually effective in achieving any substantial change on the ground in relation to Indigenous disadvantage.

We are going to be asked to support a constitutional change for a model that is as undefined by the government in relation to that model. It is not unreasonable to want to see the detail of the model.

An economy growing as strongly as possible, keeping unemployment as low as possible – those are the things that our government managed to achieve, with strong economic growth in our last year in office, with unemployment down to 50-year lows, creating the conditions for economic growth to help to drive productive wages growth.

Continue reading...

Victorian Liberal leader dumps candidate linked to conservative church a week out from state election

Posted on by

Matthew Guy announces Renee Heath will not sit in party room following newspaper investigation into City Builders Church

The Victorian opposition leader, Matthew Guy, has dumped an upper house candidate who is a member of a conservative church from the Liberal party a week before the state election.

Renee Heath is still expected to be elected to parliament, given she occupies the top position on the Liberal party’s ticket for the eastern Victorian region.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

News live: Penny Wong condemns Russia’s deadly missile attacks; Deliveroo to end operations in Australia

Posted on by

Foreign minister says ‘Australia stands with Ukraine’ following reports a Russian missile landed in Polish territory killing two people. Follow the day’s news

ABC Radio asked Simon Birmingham about reports from this morning that a Russian missile has hit Poland near the Ukraine border: The shadow foreign affairs minister says:

This is deeply, deeply troubling news.

If an accident occurs it can result in a real escalation ... it shows just how dangerous a game Russia is playing.

We can’t expect instant miracles, but the ultimate test of dialogue will be the outcomes that are received if this dialogue is successful, to see breakthroughs in regard to those trade barriers... and also critically the just treatment of Australian’s detained in China.

And then of course challenges in terms of engagement within the region, that we must continue to argue for China to respect international law, international rules and norms

Continue reading...

‘We’ve come such a long way’: Labor’s Jacinta Allan on pushing gender equality forward in Victoria

Posted on by

The likely successor to Daniel Andrews as party leader says it’s committed to overhauling women’s health statewide – but there’s always more to do

As the likely successor to Daniel Andrews, Jacinta Allan is prepared for a lot of things. But seeing a premier tweeting about tampons was something she could never have fathomed when she was first elected two decades ago.

“We’ve come such a long way in the time I’ve been in parliament,” she says.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...