‘Massive mood for change’: Can Jess Wilson take the fight to Labor?
A year out from the Victorian election, the Liberals need a 16-seat miracle to topple Labor, despite the state’s rising crime, taxes and huge debt.
Victoria’s Opposition Leader Jess Wilson (left) faces an uphill battle to defeat Jacinta Allan a year from now. It needs to hold on to its 29 seats and pick up an additional 16. Bethany Rae
On Sunday, thousands of people will descend more than 30 metres below Melbourne’s Swanston Street to inspect their brand new $13.5 billion metro. A marvel of modern engineering in gleaming granite, the metro with its five new underground stations is the biggest shake-up of Melbourne’s rail system in 40 years, taking passengers across the city in 12 minutes.
In exactly one year from this Sunday, Victorians will be digesting the result of another state election, one where the 12-year-old Labor government is expected to spruik the metro project as a signature policy success.
Sumeyya IlanbeyVictorian political correspondentSumeyya Ilanbey is the Victorian political correspondent for The Australian Financial Review. Connect with Sumeyya on Twitter. Email Sumeyya at sumeyya.ilanbey@afr.com.au
