A growing number of MPs, including deputy premier Ben Carroll, believe the SRL should be scrapped or paused
A group of Labor MPs are set to confront the Premier with a list of demands after the massive swing against the government in the Werribee by-election.
Victoria
Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Jacinta Allan will face renewed internal pressure to pause her signature Suburban Rail Loop project as the government reels from the collapse of Labor’s vote in its heartland.
A stunning swing of 9.8 per cent against the ALP in the Werribee by-election sent shockwaves through Labor on Sunday, with senior figures worried what the results meant for the coming federal election.
State Labor sources said a cross-factional group of MPs in Melbourne’s west and north were already preparing to lobby the Premier with a list of things that needed to get done or change to help them keep their seats at next year’s general election.
If the collapse of support in Werribee – which currently has Labor’s primary vote down by 17 per cent – were replicated at the 2026 state election, a swag of MPs including deputy premier Ben Carroll would face losing their seats.
Some federal Labor powerbrokers were relieved voters in Werribee had not jumped directly from Labor to the Liberal Party, as happened at last year’s Ipswich West by-election in Queensland, when the LNP’s primary leapt by more than 18 per cent.
“The good news is there’s still a reluctance of people in the west to embrace the Liberals, which is not what happened in Queensland,” a senior federal figure said.
But, on the other hand, they were reluctant to draw too many conclusions based on Victorian results because of lingering concerns about the state Liberal Party’s competence.
“We are dealing with the Victorian Liberals here, (Peter) Dutton is a much more serious prospect,” a federal minister said.
Labor’s pain, with 75 per cent of the vote counted in Werribee, came as the Liberal Party claimed victory in the Prahran by-election and seized the seat from the Greens for the first time in 11 years.
A cross-factional group of MPs is expected to formally meet next sitting week and plan to confront the Premier with a list of demands.
At the top of the MPs’ list is pausing the SRL and diverting funds to the north and west of Melbourne.
A growing number of MPs, including Mr Carroll, believe the $34.5bn SRL should be scrapped or paused because they fear it is hampering the government’s efforts to drive down debt and invest in health and education.
They have also raised concerns about a lack of transport infrastructure in the west, which emerged as a key issue in the fight for Werribee.
Sources close to Ms Allan said the SRL remained a non-negotiable project.
Ms Allan stunned caucus colleagues on Friday night, just hours before the Super Saturday by-elections, by doing an SRL social media post.
However, sources said some of her closest advisers now held the private view it had been a millstone around the government’s neck.
“They’re at the point where they’ll struggle to win the election if the push on with the project, and they’ll struggle to win the election if they scrap it,” one senior Labor figure said.
On Sunday, Ms Allan again backed the SRL, saying it was a critical infrastructure project.
“The Suburban Rail Loop is part of our program of transport projects that is supporting working people by supporting jobs,” she said.
The Victorian government has faced repeated warnings from credit agencies it faces a damaging ratings downgrade if it persists with the SRL without securing further commonwealth funding.
The federal government has committed an initial $2.2bn investment but is yet to hand over any money or commit any further funds.
The ALP was holding out hope it could retain Werribee, which it has held since 1979, with local candidate John Lister narrowly ahead of the Liberals’ Steve Murphy.
Mr Lister led Mr Murphy 50.55 per cent to 49.55 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.
It also wiped a staggering 16.7 per cent from its primary vote, while the Liberals increased their primary vote by just 3.7 per cent as voters turned to minor parties and independents.
“It is absolutely clear we need to do more. We must do more and we will,” Ms Allan said.
Pollster and former Labor strategist Kos Samaras said the Werribee result had dismantled Labor’s “red wall” saying it now resembled a “red barbed-wire fence.”
“If I were a Labor MP sitting in what was once a safe seat, I’d be doing one of two things: planning my retirement or treating my electorate as a critical marginal,” he said.
In Prahran, Liberal candidate Rachel Westaway claimed victory on Sunday after the Greens conceded defeat in the seat they had held since 2014.
It takes the Liberals’ number in the legislative assembly from 19 to 20 – its first increase since winning the 2010 election under Ted Baillieu.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin said voters were “sick of the Greens and Labor destroying their lives”.
“We know that people need a strong voice in parliament and they have not seen that here in Prahran, and they didn’t see it for years,” he said.
Originally published as A growing number of MPs, including deputy premier Ben Carroll, believe the SRL should be scrapped or paused
Join the conversation
Victorian poultry farm charged after worker’s death
A poultry farm near Geelong will face court after a worker was fatally crushed in a conveyor belt in March 2023.
Read more
When will we know who won the Werribee by-election?
The result of the Werribee by-election could prove a bellwether for upcoming federal and state elections. So who is winning, when will we get a result and what is the Premier saying?
Read more