Backroom Baz: State election campaign light on for hits but plenty of misses

There were more campaign misses than hits as Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy battled it out for the keys to Spring St.

Amid a four week election campaign, that failed to capture the imagination of Victorians, there were surely more misses than hits as Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy battled it out for the keys to Spring St.

With Baz there every step of the way, here’s the moments that summed up the best and the worst of the 2022 campaign.

HITS

SHELVING THE SRL: The promise to scrap the Suburban Rail Loop project and divert all available state funds to Victoria’s health system was the first major campaign announcement by Matthew Guy, and it was a winner. At least ahead of polling day. It was the first real point of difference between the major parties, and offered Victorians a choice: ride carefree from Cheltenham to Box Hill in just over a decade, or fix the state’s worsening health crisis now. Latest polling showed a whopping 64.9 per cent of voters backed the announcement, including more than half of those polled in Melbourne’s southeast which will be most impacted. In the end it wasn’t enough to give the party a chance.

The Suburban Rail Loop became a key issue in the campaign.

THE SEC: Daniel Andrews’ signature election commitment to bring back the State Electricity Commission was also a big vote winner, winning support from the majority of Victorians. It was also one of the few cost of living policies that really cut through with Labor framing the move as a fight between the Labor government and energy companies. It’s a fight energy companies cannot win.

HEALTH SYSTEM: Victoria’s health system should be a big winner if election promises are kept. Almost $15bn has been pledged between the two major parties, with promises to revamp and restore the state’s struggling health sector. It can be done. Before Covid Victoria enjoyed record ambulance response times. If promises are kept, we should get back there again sooner rather than later. We can’t afford not to.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT USERS: Again, all Victorians are set to win if promises are kept, with both parties vowing to slash the price of public transport. With cost of living pressures rising, every little helps. With Labor in the box seat again, regional travellers will get the spoils ahead of slashed fares.

Public transport users were promised fare cuts by both sides of politics. Picture: David Crosling

MISSES

MAROONDAH HOSPITAL RENAMING: In the wake of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Daniel Andrews announced he would rename the Maroondah Hospital in her honour. But the announcement, made as part of one-upping of a Liberal Party announcement to redevelop the hospital, went down like a lead balloon. The idea was widely panned, including by Labor people, and attracted more than 54,000 signatures on a petition calling for the move to be reversed. Not to be swayed, the Premier doubled down on the decision.

NAZI SLURS: Daniel Andrews accusing the Liberal Party of supporting Nazis, racists and bigots, drew criticism within the party and further afield and threatened to turn into an own goal for the Premier. It also drew criticism from the Australian Jewish Association who argued the appropriation of Nazism for political point scoring was reprehensible.

RED MIST: Police may have decided not to charge her, but Catherine Cumming’s statement that she joined the Angry Victorian Party “to make Daniel Andrews turn into red mist,” was a low point of the campaign. Cumming was speaking at a rally to a crowd of protesters who among them were wearing costumes and carrying Trump 2020 and other flags. She denied characterisations of her commentary as violent extremism. Baz reckons otherwise.

Catherine Cumming attracted attention after telling a rally she wanted Andrews to turn into red mist.

GUY’S RADICAL RIGHT: Matthew Guy vowed to boot conservative Christian Renee Heath from the party room if she was elected, after her links to the City Builders Church were raised in the media again. The move was foolish on a number of levels. First, Heath’s links were well known before and after her preselection earlier this year. Secondly, Guy would have needed the support of the party room to expel Heath. And there was no guarantee he’d have that. Given he’s now resigned from the leadership it’s all academic. Heath won’t be going anywhere.

MOST SURPRISING ATTEMPTED COMEBACK

Tie. Baz was stunned to see the attempted return of Geoff Shaw to Spring St, almost a decade after he was suspended from parliament as the Liberal MP for Frankston after misusing entitlements. He was less shocked to see him return for Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party. Adem Somyurek’s return to politics days after retiring, switching to the Democratic Labour Party, was just as surprising. It looks like both of them will miss out getting a seat in parliament again.

MOST HIGH PROFILE CANDIDATE

Tie. Who said politics was boring? On the Mornington Peninsula it was a battle of the celebrities with Strictly Ballroom star running for Labor in the seat of Hastings, and tennis ace Sam Groth running for the Libs in the seat of Nepean. While Groth was elected, Mercurio is still waiting to learn if he’ll get to take his political career for a spin on Spring St.

Geoff Shaw appeared out of nowhere to try and make a comeback with Clive Palmer. Picture: Luis Ascui

BIGGEST CAMPAIGN SHOCK

National candidate Shaun Gilchrist’s tragic and sudden passing this week sent shockwaves through Spring St. As did subsequent revelations Gilchrist, who was running in the seat of Narracan, was due to face the County Court next week on charges of rape and sexual assault. He was set to stand trial in June next year, which means given the speed with which the wheels of Victoria’s justice system turn, the charges were almost certainly laid before Gilchrist was preselected. The Nationals refused to say whether they were aware of the pending charges.

MOST SURPRISING EXIT

Outside observers would be forgiven for likening the exodus of senior Liberals ahead of the election to rats jumping off a sinking ship. The reasons for their departures were many and varied, but the most surprising was the sudden resignation of in-house lawyer Chandra Lloyd. Lloyd accused the party of turning a blind eye to alleged criminal behaviour, and said she was unable to continue working with state secretary Sam McQuestin.

MOST IMPROVED

Matthew Guy deserves an award for keeping a lid on it during this campaign, resisting the urge to lose his temper despite what Baz thinks must have been many temptations. Barring an angry outburst on day one of the campaign, his calmness and composure surprised and impressed Liberal Party colleagues, and media friends. It was nowhere near enough to have any impact on the campaign.