Labor Party faces Victorian election 2018 wipeout: ReachTEL poll

LATEST: A LABOR MP has sensationally called for Don Nardella to quit Parliament if he won’t pay back more than $100,000. It comes as a new poll shows voters are abandoning the Labor Party in droves.

A new poll showing Premier Daniel Andrews’ government would lose up to 18 seats if an election were held today.

• Nardella refuses to pay back $100k, apologise
• Victorian Greens take aim at Pauline Hanson’s One Nation

A LABOR MP has sensationally called for Don Nardella to quit Parliament if he won’t pay back more than $100,000.

Ivanhoe MP Anthony Carbines this morning urged Mr Nardella to leave his seat of Melton immediately, forcing a challenging byelection for the government.

“He shouldn’t be taking his place in the Parliament until he repays the money or he should resign,” Mr Carbines said.

Anthony Carbines.

Don Nardella has been forced to quit from the parliamentary Labor Party in disgrace. Picture: Nicole Garmston

 Read more: Labor whistleblowers say taxpayer money siphoned for party memberships

“He shouldn’t be taking his place in the Parliament until he repays the money or he should resign,” Mr Carbines said.

In an aggressive spray, he said he did not speak to Mr Nardella and that “my electorate has nothing but contempt for him”.

The comments come as a new poll shows Victorian voters are abandoning the crisis-ridden Labor Party in droves.

The poll shows Premier Daniel Andrews’ government would be dumped in a landslide, losing up to 18 seats, if an election were held today.

The Herald Sun has obtained a ReachTEL poll, the first commissioned since an expenses scandal claimed the scalps of the Speaker and deputy speaker, showing that Labor now trails the Coalition 46 to 54 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis.

The ALP’s statewide primary vote has plummeted to 30.3 per cent, according to the poll.

And Opposition Leader Matthew Guy has overtaken Mr Andrews as preferred premier, 34.7 per cent to 29.6 per cent.

If these voting intentions were replicated at next year’s election, the ALP would lose up to 18 seats, including Mr Andrews’, his deputy James Merlino’s, and a swag of seats along the Frankston rail line.

The poll of 1268 Victorians was conducted on March 2 — a few days after Speaker Telmo Languiller and deputy speaker Don Nardella resigned over their use of taxpayer-funded perks.

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Mr Andrews this morning brushed off the figures claiming it was “internal Liberal Party polling” and said it was “clear” where the figures had come from.

Despite refusing to comment on the results he did accept “community expectations have not been met” in regards to the entitlement scandal and promised there would be sweeping changes to the rules.

“I would never presume to tell Victorians how to vote, we make our case everyday,” he said

“What is of concern to all of us is the rules (on the second residence allowance) are fundamentally changed.”

Premier Daniel Andrews speaks to the media this morning.Picture: Nicole Garmston

Opposition leader Matthew Guy said the poll was not done by the Liberal Party and has “got nothing to do” with them.

One senior source said the polling result for the government was an absolute “disaster”.

The results will send shockwaves through the state Labor caucus, which was rocked on Tuesday by Mr Nardella’s resignation from the parliamentary party in disgrace after he refused the Premier’s demands that he repay $100,000 he claimed from taxpayers while living in the country.

An angry Mr Nardella told reporters at parliament to “f--- off” and “get f---ed”.

Mr Languiller, the MP for Tarneit and the former Speaker, also claimed the controversial “second residence” allowance while living in Queenscliff last year. But he has promised to repay the almost $40,000 claimed.

In just two years the government has lost three ministers, a Speaker, and a deputy speaker, who must now sit as an independent.

Mr Guy said the poll showed “a competitive race in Victoria” but that there was a long way to go before the election.

“The two-party preferred is way ahead for the Coalition but let’s keep our feet on the ground. It’s one poll,” he said.

“It’s anyone’s game.”

A previous ReachTEL poll conducted by Fairfax in September had Labor holding a 51-49 two-party preferred lead, despite its primary vote plunging from 38 per cent at the 2014 election to 34.6 per cent.

The September survey also found that 50 per cent of people thought the premier was too close to unions, after he gave in to United Firefighters Union boss Peter Marshall’s demands over an enterprise bargaining agreement for the Country Fire Authority.

Read more: Labor whistleblowers say taxpayer money siphoned for party memberships

The March 2 poll found that 42 per cent of people think the government’s relationship with Mr Marshall is “too close”, 14 per cent think it’s “about right” and 9.5 per cent think it’s “not close enough”.

A Galaxy/Herald Sun poll last month showed Labor with a 37 per cent primary vote. Splitting One Nation preferences evenly between the major parties, the government still led the Coalition 51-49 on a two-party preferred basis.

Since that poll, voters have been confronted by Labor MPs pocketing more than $140,000 from taxpayers to live outside their own electorates.

Senior figures in both the ALP and Coalition say the scandal has caused major damage to MPs and both parties.

The ReachTEL poll found 35.9 per cent of people say they would vote Liberal — slightly less than at the 2014 election. More than 12 per cent would vote for One Nation Party, and 8 per cent for the Greens; 6 per cent were undecided.

Despite the rising popularity of One Nation Mr Guy today ruled out preferencing One Nation ahead of the Nationals at the 2018 election.

The poll also showed About 36 per cent of voters said they were satisfied with Mr Andrews’ performance, compared with almost 57 per cent who were dissatisfied.

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