Labor MPs believe Daniel Andrews has been given a mandate for bold change. What will he do with it?

The Victorian Labor and Liberal parties face challenges over the next four years after a decisive election result

Despite predictions of a late swing to the Coalition and the possibility of minority government, Labor not only emphatically won the Victorian state election – it has outdone its 2018 “Danslide” result by one lower house seat.

The size of the victory, as well as the likelihood of a largely progressive crossbench in the upper house, provides Daniel Andrews with a mandate to tackle important reform. This includes scrapping group voting tickets and overhauling the criminal justice and child protection systems, which are being examined at public hearings by the nation’s first truth-telling inquiry, the Yoorrook Justice Commission.

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Victorian Labor surpasses its 2018 ‘Danslide’ result after claiming seat of Bass

Jordan Crugnale claims Bass, seeing the party’s presence in the lower house increased by one seat

Victorian Labor has surpassed its emphatic 2018 “Danslide” election result, claiming victory in the seat of Bass, in Melbourne’s south-east.

Labor MP Jordan Crugnale claimed the seat on Friday night, after a redistribution before the poll made the seat notionally Liberal with a margin of 0.7%.

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Victoria’s election result dispelled the myth of Daniel Andrews’ supposed unpopularity

Media and the Liberal party were enthralled by the ‘toxic Dan’ narrative in the face of evidence to the contrary

There is a bias all journalists share. It is baked into the profession, inseparable from craft skills, such as news sense. It is not ideological or party political. Rather, it skews the judgment towards whatever interpretation of the evidence makes for the best, most exciting story.

This, surely, is one of the reasons that so much of the media reporting of the Victorian election campaign was off the mark – particularly in the last week, when multiple outlets were predicting a late swing to the Coalition and against Labor.

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

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.

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Victorian Liberal party left shellshocked after another heavy election defeat

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%.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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Daniel Andrews rejects ‘Americanisation’ of politics after MP’s controversial speech

MP Catherine Cumming under police investigation over speech at a protest in which she called for Victoria’s premier to be turned into ‘red mist’

Daniel Andrews says Victorians deserve “better than violent extremism” and US-style politics after upper house MP, Catherine Cumming, told a crowd of protesters yesterday that he should be turned into “red mist”.

Cumming, who is running for the Angry Victorians party at the state election, is being investigated by police for inciteful behaviour after she was filmed giving a speech at a protest outside Flinders Street station on Saturday afternoon.

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Evacuation order issued for Condobolin; Albanese says renewables can fight inflation – as it happened

Lachlan River is at major flood level and SES predicts a record peak of 7.8 metres on Monday. This blog is now closed

Poppy seed tea warning

Australians are being warned not to drink poppy seed tea, promoted on popular social media platforms, after a spate of poisoning cases across Australia linked to the home-brewed sedative.

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PM’s meeting with Chinese president confirmed – as it happened

This blog is now closed

Andrews rules out deal with the Greens and independents in event of minority government

Dan Andrews was also asked what would happen if Labor finds itself in a minority government situation – will it do a deal with the Greens?

No deal will be offered and no deal will be done.

And independents – no deals with independents?

No deal will be offered and no deal will be done.

So if you’re in a minority situation and you hold more seats than the Liberal party, what happens? You go back to another election?

Well, I think what the best thing to do, and what happens, Michael, is we work hard for the next 13 days, we work hard to put a positive and optimistic plan out there, and we’ll see what the verdict of Victorian voters is. I’m arguing, I’m urging people to vote for a strong, stable majority Labor government, to vote for your local Labor candidate.

The new SEC – government-owned, not private for-profit, but government-owned electricity, so owned by every single Victorian – creates nearly 60,000 jobs – 6,000 of those will be apprentices. It will be 100% renewable electricity. These companies can’t be relied upon to replace themselves. They’ll just put another profit machine in place. We need to make sure that we’re looking after pensioners, we’re looking after families and, indeed, businesses. And without electricity, there is no economy, so we have to replace them. And we choose to replace them with a public option – a government-owned option. An option that’s owned by every single Victorian.

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Teal candidates secure top spots on ballot papers ahead of Victorian state election

Daniel Andrews also listed first in his seat in Mulgrave, while Matthew Guy will appear sixth in Bulleen

Teal independent candidate Nomi Kaltmann will be placed at the top of the ballot paper in the tightly held seat of Caulfield during the Victorian state election, with Daniel Andrews also securing the most coveted spot in Mulgrave.

Kaltmann was one of two teal candidates in Melbourne’s south-east to secure the top spot, after all 88 lower house seats and eight upper house regions had their ballots drawn for the 26 November poll on Friday afternoon.

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Daniel Andrews pledges veterans card while Matthew Guy offers stamp duty savings for first home buyers

Premier says more to come on cost-of-living measures and asks ‘what is the point’ of News Corp story on his 2021 fall

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has pledged $37m to introduce a veterans card if re-elected later this month, while the opposition leader, Matthew Guy, offered stamp duty savings for first home buyers.

The Victorian veterans card, to be rolled out from mid-2023, would entitle the state’s 90,000 veterans to a $100 discount on the registration of one vehicle, as well as free trailer and caravan registration and free fishing and boating licences. Veterans would be entitled to free public transport on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

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Daniel Andrews condemns ‘smear and innuendo’ surrounding Victorian anti-corruption investigation

Victorian premier says ‘I act appropriately at all times’ following questions about his role in awarding two grants worth $3.4m to a Labor-linked union

Daniel Andrews has issued a blistering statement about “smear and innuendo” surrounding an anti-corruption investigation.

The Victorian premier is facing questions about his role in awarding two grants worth $3.4m to a Labor-linked union.

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Australia news live: Victoria on flood alert; Labor announces biggest energy investment since Snowy Hydro

Communities in Victoria are on high alert with evacuation warnings in place for towns along the river. Follow the latest news

Dave Sharma, the former Liberal MP for Wentworth and former Australian ambassador to Israel, has followed Bowen on ABC Radio.

Sharma has issued the following statement criticising the government on its reversal of the recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel:

Penny Wong has failed to articulate any national interest reason for this change in policy.

In withdrawing recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, she is not only damaging a relationship with a close and trusted partner, but she is at odds with many of Israel’s Arab neighbours, such as the UAE, who are pursuing closer relations with Israel in order to promote regional peace and stability.

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Daniel Andrews dismisses concerns over independence of review into Flemington racetrack flood wall

Melbourne Water chair John Thwaites, who was water minister when the wall was approved, will excuse himself from the review

Daniel Andrews has dismissed concerns over the independence of a review into the impact of a flood wall built to protect Flemington racetrack, which will be conducted by an organisation chaired by a former minister of the government that approved the structure.

The track was spared by Friday’s flooding while homes in neighbouring suburbs including Maribyrnong and Kensington were inundated, with some residents believing the wall pushed flood waters away from the track and into their homes.

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Victoria floods: Thousands of homes to be inundated or cut off as some swollen rivers peak on Monday

Former quarantine facility in Mickleham to act as a shelter and more than 100 schools to be closed

The shuttered Mickleham quarantine facility is being turned into a flood recovery centre amid Victoria’s worsening flood crisis, with thousands of homes expected to be inundated or cut off and some rivers not expected to reach their peak until Monday.

Approximately 6,000 properties were without power on Sunday and more than 9,000 people had already applied for emergency support payments.

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Anglican archbishop of Melbourne expresses concern about Andrew Thorburn’s resignation as Essendon CEO

Matthew Guy also criticises debate that led to resignation, after premier says views were ‘appalling’

The Anglican archbishop of Melbourne has joined Victoria’s opposition leader in criticising Andrew Thorburn’s resignation as Essendon chief executive over links to a church condemning homosexuality and abortion.

Thorburn was appointed to the role on Monday but resigned on Tuesday afternoon after sermons by the City on a Hill church, of which he is chairman, were made public.

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Andrew Thorburn resigns as Essendon CEO after one day over links to controversial church

Essendon says City on a Hill’s values are in ‘direct contradiction’ with its own, as Daniel Andrews labels its views on homosexuality and abortion ‘appalling’

Andrew Thorburn has resigned as Essendon chief executive 24 hours after being appointed because his links to a church condemning homosexuality and abortion were in “direct contradiction” to the values of the AFL club.

The Bombers announced on Tuesday afternoon that Thorburn, despite not holding the same personal views as the City on the Hill movement for which he is chairman, felt he could not serve in both roles and had offered his resignation.

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