What Labor’s election win means for you
These are the promises an Andrews government will deliver after victory in Saturday’s election. What does it mean for you?
State Election
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These are the key promises the Andrews government will roll out after victory in Saturday’s election.
FREE KINDER
Kinder will become free for all three and four-year-old children from next year, with a new “pre-prep” structure to be created.
FREE TAFE
Free TAFE courses will become available to all Victorians, with prospective students able to enrol regardless of their prior skills or qualifications. An extra two million Victorians are expected to become eligible under the changes. Cash is also being invested in upgrading existing campuses and funding new TAFE facilities at Sunbury and Melton.
ROADS AND TRAINS
Cheaper public transport fares, more Vlocity trains, extra weekend services on regional rail network
The cost of a daily ticket on the regional network will be capped at $9.20 for a full fare. Almost 200 extra weekend services will be added on major train lines in regional Victoria.
Deliver better train services to the western suburbs
Includes extra stabling and upgraded stations to deliver nine-car VLocity trains for the Melton line.
Upgrade intersections in Bacchus Marsh, Cranbourne and Point Cook
Point Cook Road will be upgraded and a new intersection at Central Ave will be built. A roundabout in Bacchus Marsh will be replaced with traffic lights that are timed and connected to the nearby level crossing. An intersection in Cranbourne will be redeveloped.
Upgrade the Watson Street and Hume Freeway interchange in Wallan
The funding will go towards a full diamond interchange on the Hume Freeway and upgrade on Watson Street.
SRL and airport rail
Early works on the first stage of the Suburban Rail Loop will begin in Glen Waverley in the new year. Preparatory works will also kick off in Burwood, Monash and at Box Hill, where the 109 tram terminus on Whitehorse Rd will be demolished and relocated to build a dedicated SRL station. Work to progress the Airport Rail Link, connecting Tullamarine to Sunshine via 12km of new track, is also a high priority.
HEALTH
Health has become a massive issue on the back of the pandemic, with waiting list blowouts and the triple-0 crisis dominating the news, and the Premier is keen to tackle the problems as a matter of urgency. Further promises include a new hospital in West Gippsland and upgrades to the Wonthaggi, Monash, Northern, Austin and Maroondah (to be renamed Queen Elizabeth II) hospitals, as well as offering free nursing and midwifery degrees.
POWER SAVING BONUS
Labor’s second round of power saving bonus. Victorian households will be able to save $250 from March next year if they use the Energy Compare website to check for better deals.
REGIONAL VICTORIA
Build a new hospital in west Gippsland
A new state-of-the-art hospital and public aged care facility in Drouin East.
A bigger and better art gallery for Bendigo
A grant provided to the City of Greater Bendigo towards the redevelopment of the Bendigo Art Gallery.
Minor parties to control Victoria’s upper house
The Legalise Cannabis Party, Greens and Nationals are expected to be the big winners in the new-look Victorian Upper House.
At least two Legalise Cannabis candidates are in strong contention in early counting and could play a major role on the crossbench.
The party, which wants a “joint effort” to make people calmer and happier, polled strongly statewide with Rachel Payne (South Eastern Metropolitan) and David Ettershank (Western Metropolitan) well placed – a surprising result for a party with few resources.
“It’s very early in the count but the support has been delightful,” Mr Ettershank said.
“I’ve been at the pre-polling booths every day and a diverse range of people have come up offering support.”
Mr Ettershank said most people believed “it was time” for cannabis law reform, such as the legalisation of low-level marijuana use, a change to driving laws and more affordable medicinal cannabis.
During the campaign Mr Ettershank said politicians should “chill the f--k out”.
“Let’s just tone it down and treat the people of Victoria with a little respect. Let’s make this a joint effort,” he said.
Labor is unlikely to win a majority so the state’s upper house will again be controlled by minor parties.
Counting and preference distribution to decide the 40 MPs will take days and a result in some hotly-contested regions could take weeks.
The Greens could pick up three more MPs to sit along state leader Samantha Ratnam in the Legislative Council, while the Nationals are expected to pick up two seats.
But Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party is facing an electoral wipe-out, with early indications showing that his party will lose all three seats.
Three micro parties – Animal Justice Party, Fiona Patten’s Reason Party and Shooters Fishers and Farmers – are expected to retain their single seats.
Animal Justice Party candidate Georgie Purcell is favourite to pick up the fifth and final position in the Northern Victoria region, while colleague Andy Meddick could lose his Western Victoria seat after being elected in 2018.
Ms Purcell, Mr Meddick’s former chief of staff, said she was confident of being elected.
“It feels like we are in limbo now but we’re quietly confident,” she said.
Chris Delforce, former director of animal activist group Aussie Farms, is also a chance to win for the AJP in the North Eastern Metropolitan region.
Controversial former Liberal MP and anti-abortion campaigner Bernie Finn is battling to hold his seat after running as a Democratic Labour Party candidate.
Fellow DLP member and outspoken Andrews critic Adem Somyurek is unlikely to retain his seat but the DLP’s Hugh Dolan could still take the fifth spot in North Eastern Metropolitan from Transport Matters’ Rod Barton.
One Nation’s Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell is also polling strongly in Northern Victoria.
Most early predictions are based on above-the-line votes, so preference flows could swing results as below-the-line results come in.
On Sunday the Victorian Electoral Commission had counted about 30 per cent of votes in the eight Upper House regions. Labor is expected to win 15 or 16 seats, short of a majority of 21.
Many candidates who used the so-called “preference whisperer” Glenn Druery did not perform well, except Shooters Fishers and Farmers incumbent Jeff Bourman.
Mr Druery was exposed by the Herald Sun in a bombshell video that revealed the rorting of the state’s voting system through sham political parties and “sale” of seats for $55,000.
Other sitting MPs facing losses include Clifford Hayes (Sustainable Australia), Tim Quilty and David Limbrick (Liberal Democrats).
Former Hinch party MP Catherine Cumming, who ran as a candidate for the Angry Victorians Party, is unlikely to return to Spring St.
Ms Cumming made startling comments on the steps of Flinders St station, saying she wanted to turn Premier Daniel Andrews into “red mist” – an apparent reference to sniper attacks. Victoria Police investigated her comments but no charges will be laid.
Liberal candidate Renee Heath is expected to win in the Eastern Metropolitan region, despite Matthew Guy last week saying she would not sit in the party room because of her controversial views and links to the ultra-conservative City Builders church.
Monash University senior lecturer in politics, Zareh Ghazarian, said Labor would again have to work with a mixed bag crossbench.
“The crossbench will be made up by different parties, all with different agendas,” she said. “The task for the government will be to negotiate on every piece of legislation so it’s going to require a lot of negotiation on their part.”
GREENS VOW TO PUSH LABOR FURTHER LEFT
The Victorian Greens have vowed to pressure Labor further to the left, declaring they have now become a “force to be reckoned with”.
The Greens will have at least four MPs sitting in Victoria’s lower house — with the party picking up Richmond, and also retaining their inner city heartland of Melbourne, Prahran and Brunswick.
While Northcote appeared to have fallen early to the Greens, by late Sunday it appeared Labor MP Kat Theophanous had regained control of the seat, which Daniel Andrews had targeted heavily in his election campaign.
In what they’ve dubbed a “Greenslide”, the Greens enjoyed major swings of nearly 20 per cent in Preston and Pascole Vale, while also recording a significant swing in Footscray.
They also boosted their representation in the upper house, expected to pick up an additional three seats alongside leader Samantha Ratnam.
Ms Ratnam said the Greens are on track to double their party room representation.
“We’re on track to double our representation in the next Victorian parliament, putting us in the balance of power in the upper house — in a powerful position to push the next Labor government to go further and faster on the issues that all Victorians care about,” she said.
“It’s clear voters swung away from the major parties last night in favour of progressive parties like the Greens.
“They made it loud and clear they want action on climate change, housing affordability and integrity in politics.
“The Greens are a force to be reckoned with and we’re here to stay.”
Teals fail to reproduce federal magic
Meanwhile, the Teals failed to replicate momentum from the federal election, with all four Climate 200-endorsed candidates unlikely to get over the line.
Kew based independent Sophie Torney failed to beat Tim Smith’s replacement Jess Smith, while Caulfield hopeful Nomi Kaltmann didn’t receive near enough support to challenge deputy Liberal leader David Southwick.
Hawthorn candidate Melissa Lowe was last night locked in a tight battle with John Pesutto, who has been touted by many as a future Liberal leader.
The Liberals were also set to hold on to Mornington, despite climate-backed independent Kate Lardner putting up a strong fight.
It was also a disastrous night for independent candidates who were predicted to shake up seats in Melbourne’s west.
Prominent GP Joe Garra, who gave Treasurer Tim Pallas a scare at the 2018 poll, failed to garner the same level of support in Point Cook against Labor’s Mathew Hilakari.
In Melton, independents Ian Birchall and Jarrod James Bingham were no match for incumbent Steve McGhie, who was last night expected to hold the seat over Liberal candidate Graham Watt.
And Mr Pallas comfortably held his seat of Werribee, despite some predicting a scare from independent Paul Hopper.
Guy resigns as leader after second crushing loss
Matthew Guy will resign as leader of the opposition following his second crushing election loss.
But Mr Guy’s statement fails to mention whether he will remain in parliament. The Herald Sun understands he will continue on as the Member for Bulleen.
In a statement on Sunday morning, the Liberal leader said he will soon call on the party to elect a new leadership team.
“As soon as it is clearer which Liberal Party candidates will form the next parliamentary party room, I will call them together to elect their new leadership team,” he said.
“I will not be a candidate for the position of leader.”
Despite the party failing to make up ground from the 2018 “Danslide” victory, Mr Guy said swings in parts of Melbourne represented a positive future.
“The respectable statewide two party preferred swing to the Coalition of 3-4 per cent was most profound in the exceptional swings to the Liberal Party in Melbourne’s north and west,” he said.
“This represents a huge future electoral opportunity for the Liberal Party.”
Mr Guy added: “I want to put on record my deep appreciation to all the Liberal and National Party candidates, their campaign teams and volunteers for the tireless work they have done, particularly over recent weeks.”
“Once again I congratulate the Australian Labor Party on winning the 2022 Victorian state election.”
Dan commits to full term as Premier
Daniel Andrews has committed to serving the full four years as Premier following his historic third-term win.
“It is the greatest honour of my life,” he told ABC Insiders.
“I’m here to get things done. I’m thrilled to do it for another four years.”
Mr Andrews said the emphatic victory is “not about being vindicated”, but rather about fulfilling the “profound obligation to get things done”.
“My politics has never been about the win. It is always about the work,” he said.
“It is about our positive plan being endorsed and now getting the opportunity and having the profound obligation to get things done.”
Mr Andrews said he would work to rebuild trust with disillusioned Victorians, particularly those living in seats that recorded a swing against Labor.
“I’m fully aware that while being resoundingly elected, there were many Victorians that didn’t vote for us and we will govern for them too,” he said.
“I live in the suburbs and this is the whole thing – sometimes things that are big on Spring Street … they’ve got nothing to do with what’s on Main St.
“I get my advice from my neighbours, from my local community and I’ll continue to work hard.
“There’s some work to do there – that sense of healing, that sense of unity.”
With voters identifying trust in politics – and politicians – as a key issue, Mr Andrews pledged to lead the state with integrity.
“Integrity in politics is doing what you said you would and that’s exactly what I’ll do,” he said.
“You’ve got to win to do that but I grew up being taught every day that with opportunity comes a profound obligation to do your best, to work hard, to do what matters.
“And that’s exactly what I’ve delivered over these last eight years and I’m humbled and so grateful that Victorians have re-elected a majority Labor government.”
Mr Andrews told media on Sunday that plenty of hard-earned celebrations were enjoyed following ALP’s successful campaign.
“I did not get on the beers, but many others did, which I thoroughly endorsed because we’re back – Victoria’s open, not just for business, but for big ideas and reform,” he said.
Andrews briefly touched on his chat with LNP’s Matthew Guy in which the opposition leader called him to concede defeat Saturday evening.
“I appreciated that he called me,” Mr Andrews said.
“I wish him all the best – I know it’s not easy, it can’t be busy.”
It remains unclear whether Guy will remain as party leader despite falling short in the past two elections.
Andrews slams ‘nasty’ actions at polling booths
Mr Andrews says the hard work starts now as he vows to see through his next term as Labor’s leader until 2026.
Speaking with media on Sunday, Mr Andrews addressed the divisive election in which many believed would bring an end to ALP’s reign following a tumultuous few years.
“Hope always beats hate – Victoria doesn’t want someone who panders to what is considered popular,” he said.
“Our politics might be divided but our community is united.
“Whether you voted for us or not, we’ll work hard and get things done.”
It comes after ALP team members were subjected to verbal abuse at polling booths during Saturday’s election.
“We’ve seen some pretty nasty stuff and on behalf of my booth workers, staff, friends and family who handed out for me yesterday, thank you.”
“ … For keeping their cool, not taking the bait and engaging in that behaviour,” Mr Andrews said.
“Violence and just some of the commentary and that partisanship, that doesn’t do anyone any credit.”
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