Andrews makes promise to swinging seats, as Guy quits leadership

A shattered Victorian Liberal Party is hunting for a new leader after Matthew Guy and two other candidates ruled themselves out, while Premier Daniel Andrews promised to use his fresh mandate to do not what was “popular, but what was right”.

On Sunday, Guy said he would step down after leading his party to defeat for a second time, framing the leadership race as a “huge future electoral opportunity” for the Liberal Party.

Matthew Guy (with wife Renae) concedes defeat on Saturday night. He will step down as Liberals leader.Credit: Jason South

“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. I will not be a candidate for the position of leader,” Guy said in a statement.

But potential candidates Michael O’Brien, a former opposition leader, and health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier ruled themselves out of contention, and Louise Staley lost her seat.

Premier Daniel Andrews was resoundingly endorsed for a historic third term on Saturday night, with Labor winning 52 seats in the 88-seat lower house despite an overall swing against the government. Addressing the media on Sunday morning, Andrews promised to govern for all Victorians.

“We will make sure that we govern for all Victorians, no matter where you live, what you do for a living or whether you voted for us or not,” he said.

“Being returned to government is a great gift. It is an amazing responsibility,” he said, adding he had been “very grateful that [Guy] wished me and my family all the best ... I said it was not easy, but all the best to [him].”

When asked what the first 100 days of a re-elected Labor government would look like, Andrews enunciated no fresh policy ambitions, but said it would be a “lot of hard work, getting on and getting things done”.

“Johnny Howard had a view that we were the Massachusetts of this country,” Andrews said. “No, no. Massachusetts is the Victoria of the United States.

“We are a progressive state, we are a thoughtful state, we are the centre of critical thinking, we are the centre of all the big ideas in our nation, and we’re best when we’re out in front, leading our nation and in so many different agendas: mental health, family violence, early childhood education, renewable energy, climate change action.”

Premier Daniel Andrews speaks to the media on Sunday.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui

Voters in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs swung towards Labor in the electorates of Box Hill, Glen Waverley, Ashwood, Ringwood and Bayswater. In Geelong and South Barwon, Labor also improved its position.

Support for Labor dipped in some of the party’s former strongholds in outer suburban Melbourne such as Broadmeadows, Greenvale, St Albans and Mill Park, where Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio withstood a swing of more than 14 per cent against her. Healthy margins meant these swings did not cost Labor any seats.

Andrews promised to work with communities where votes swung against local Labor members.

“When it comes to some of those results, there’s some work to do in those communities, and I will do that very important work,” the premier said.

Several contenders have emerged to take over the Liberal Party leadership, with Berwick MP Brad Battin confirming to The Age he was considering running for the top job for a second time after failing to overthrow then-Liberal leader Michael O’Brien in 2021.

“Obviously, my ambitions are out there, but I need to go back to the party room and consult my colleagues,” Battin said.

“I think the challenge for our party will be how we connect with voters in outer suburban Melbourne. They are people of ambition and they match our values, so what’s preventing us engaging with them properly?”

Several Liberal MPs told The Age that Hawthorn candidate John Pesutto had already contacted some members of the party room to canvass support for a leadership bid should he win his seat.

Michael O’Brien and Brad Battin.Credit: Joe Armao, Daniel Pockett

On Sunday, Pesutto edged ahead of teal independent Melissa Lowe in Hawthorn, with postal votes expected to favour the Liberals. A party source linked to the Hawthorn campaign said Pesutto was in a “good position” in Hawthorn but acknowledged “things swing around wildly”.

Other potential candidates include Polwarth MP Richard Riordan and upper house MP Matthew Bach, according to several Liberal sources who spoke to The Age on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party matters. The only option for Bach would be for the upper house MP to run for Guy’s seat of Bulleen if he chooses to resign from parliament and cause a byelection.

Under the Liberal Party’s internal rules, the leader must be from the lower house or, if they are picked from the upper house, the MP must be able to snare a Legislative Assembly seat within three months.

It is unlikely the next Liberal leader will be a woman after potential leadership contender Louise Staley was defeated in the rural seat of Ripon. Several Liberal MPs told The Age that shadow health minister Georgie Crozier had also ruled herself out.

Illustration: Matt GoldingCredit:

While Labor has lost the seat of Richmond to the Greens, the Andrews government was confident it could cling on to Albert Park, where the Greens were on track to finish third.

Labor also liked its chances in the marginal seat of Northcote, with local MP Kat Theophanous ahead of the Greens candidate, Campbell Gome, by 865 votes on Sunday afternoon.

The National Party was celebrating success on Sunday after winning three seats – Morwell, Shepparton and Mildura – from independents and regaining party status, which it lost in 2018.

But an internal rift has erupted within the Nationals after Gippsland South MP Danny O’Brien told ABC radio that the party should reconsider whether it remains in coalition with the Liberals in the next term of parliament.

Simon Holmes a Court.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Nationals leader Peter Walsh rebuked O’Brien and told The Age he was “outside his remit totally in making those comments”.

“To form a government in Victoria, the Liberals and Nationals need to work together,” Walsh said.

Meanwhile, big swings to the Greens and independents were threatening the major parties as counting continued on Sunday.

Richmond swung to the Greens by 12.48 per cent, with Gabrielle de Vietri set to become the party’s fourth MP, while Melbourne, Brunswick and Prahran were all comfortably retained.

With 72 per cent of the vote counted in Northcote and a slight swing against Labor, Gome was still in the running to deliver the Greens a fifth seat.

Although Albert Park and Preston have been called for Labor, the Greens polled 47 per cent of the two-party preferred vote in both, and increased their primary vote in Albert Park by 4.2 per cent. There was an 18 per cent swing against Labor in Preston.

While two of the four teal independents backed by Simon Holmes a Court’s Climate 200 appeared to have lost, Kate Lardner was confident of snaring Mornington from Liberal Chris Crewther, who led Lardner by 177 votes largely thanks to postal votes. And with Lowe trailing Pesutto by fewer than 500 votes, Hawthorn could still fall to the teals.

The Liberals were confident they could fend off teal candidate Sophie Torney in Kew, despite a slight swing against them. With 72 per cent of the vote counted, Liberal candidate Jess Wilson led Torney by more than 2000 votes. Kew was previously held by Liberal Tim Smith.

Deputy Liberal leader David Southwick appeared to have staved off Labor and the teal candidate in the marginal seat of Caulfield.

Holmes a Court said the independents ran “very competitive” campaigns. He said the movement caused the Liberal Party to be “dragged from a climate-denial platform to a pro-climate platform”.

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