Tom Elliott: Labor needs to help Aussie battlers to win the 2018 Victorian state election

TRENDY, left-wing voters will never return to Labor. If Dan Andrews wants to win the 2018 state election, he needs to forget about saving the planet and help Aussie battlers, writes Tom Elliott.

Victorian MP-elect Lidia Thorpe celebrates with supporters after winning the Northcote by-election. Picture: AAP Image/Joe Castro

MEMO to Premier Dan Andrews: If you want to win the 2018 state election, forget trying to “out-green” the Greens.

Trendy Left-wing, inner-city voters will never return to Labor, preferring instead the Greens’ siren-like call of environmental, indigenous, LGBTQI and pro-refugee activism.

Mr Andrews’s party should shift its focus to what it once did best — improving outcomes for working-class Victorians.

These days, it’s tough being a centre-Left politician. Voters once loyal to Labor are now flocking to the Greens. Nowhere was this more evident than at last weekend’s Northcote by-election.

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Lidia Thorpe’s win in Northcote by-election spells trouble for Labor

Victorian MP-elect Lidia Thorpe celebrates with supporters after winning the Northcote by-election. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

For the first time in 90 years, this once-safe Labor seat fell to Greens candidate Lidia Thorpe. She campaigned heavily on her indigenous background and environmental activism, both of which mean nothing for traditional blue-collar issues such as jobs, healthcare, education, energy costs and house prices — yet still Thorpe won easily.

And Northcote won’t be the last inner-urban Labor constituency to fall. Also in the Greens’ sights are Brunswick, Richmond and Albert Park, areas populated with well-educated, highly paid public servants and lawyers who regard Labor (and Liberals) with disdain.

These soy latte-sipping, European SUV-driving types don’t like Andrews much — so he should forget about them and return to his party’s industrial roots.

Once, Labor’s main priority was helping ordinary Australians: migrants struggling to learn English while toiling away at factory jobs; young couples with one income and two kids looking to buy their first home at a reasonable price; and union members who expected a fair rate of pay for an honest day’s work.

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Victorian MP-elect Lidia Thorpe after winning the Northcote by-election. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

In other words, traditional Aussie battlers — people whom Labor has forgotten in its ill-conceived quest to appear more environmentally aware.

To win in 2018, Labor needs to forget about saving the planet, renaming parks to erase our colonial past and placating every letter in the LGBTQI alphabet.

The Greens dominate these issues with a quasi-religious passion Labor can never match.

Instead, the Premier should solve high energy prices. For various reasons, the cost of gas and electricity have skyrocketed in Victoria. Despite our abundant natural resources, people on low incomes hesitate before using a heater or air conditioner — because such creature comforts are hideously expensive to run.

The party that fixes expensive energy will win many votes. Reducing power prices is a no-brainer political issue.

Andrews should also do more to support manufacturing. Thanks to Victoria’s energy costs, many industrial companies are either shrinking or shutting down altogether — and costing local workers their jobs.

Assuming he stares down the Greens, Andrews could approve new onshore gas exploration in Victoria which, if successful, would encourage employment.

And what about house prices? Young couples on modest incomes struggle to buy anything liveable within an hour of Melbourne’s CBD. Also, the queue of people awaiting public housing now exceeds 30,000.

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House prices play second fiddle to units

Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: Sarah Matray

Andrews should release more land for the development of both public and private homes.

True, his government has introduced stamp-duty concessions for first-home buyers.

But anecdotal evidence suggests this has only raised further the price of established dwellings.

If instead the government increased the supply of homes relative to demand, average prices would fall. Economics 101, Mr Premier.

Long travel times also weigh heavily on commuters. In 2014, Andrews infamously cancelled the construction of a freeway — the East West Link — to woo inner-city voters flirting with the Greens.

And what happened? Those same voters said “thank you very much” and voted Greens anyway. So $1.2 billion in public funds was flushed down the drain. And traffic queues inbound on the Eastern Freeway near Hoddle St are more congested than ever.

Build more freeways, Mr Andrews.

Think of workers living in outer-urban locales such as Croydon, Mooroolbark and Dandenong, admit you were wrong to reject East West Link and then construct this vital piece of public infrastructure.

Education is another once-traditional Labor stronghold now mired in political correctness.

Instead of learning reading, writing and arithmetic, kids are now confronted with programs such as Safe Schools, which teach that boys can be girls, and vice-versa.

What modern workplaces really need, however, are young secondary graduates who can use English properly, perform mental arithmetic and solve problems.

Mr Andrews, focus on the real concerns of working-class Victorians — mainly the rising cost of living — and the 2018 state election is Labor’s for the taking.

— Tom Elliott is 3AW Drivetime host, weekdays 3pm-6pm

@TomElliott3AW