Federal Labor sounds alarm over Werribee backlash
Labor MPs are warning Anthony Albanese that Victoria’s Jacinta Allan isn’t the only one who should be listening to ‘abandoned’ heartland voters.
Rattled federal Labor MPs have warned the voter revolt that has pushed Jacinta Allan to the brink of defeat in the party’s heartland threatens to spill into the upcoming federal election and hurt Anthony Albanese’s bid for a second term.
With Labor’s vote collapsing in the by-election for the state electorate of Werribee, concerns within the Albanese government are emerging that the ALP was on the nose in Victoria where it holds 24 seats.
One federal Labor MP told The Australian it was “no surprise” the party suffered a massive swing in the Werribee by-election, while others warned the brand damage from the Allan government was impacting the Prime Minister’s prospects in some Melbourne electorates.
A Labor MP, who spoke on the condition they were not identified, said there should be more infrastructure projects unveiled in western Melbourne ahead of the federal election, while there is also a push for more cost-of-living support.
Just weeks before Mr Albanese calls a federal election, Labor has been stung by a historic voter backlash that has left it clinging to Werribee by the narrowest of margins.
At the close of counting at 1am on Sunday, the Victorian Electoral Commission calculated a double-digit two-party-preferred swing had left Labor leading the Liberals by just 50.55 to 49.45 per cent.
Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin said Werribee was going down to the wire, but he did claim victory in the Prahran by-election, where the Liberals defeated the Greens.
Former Labor election campaign strategist and leading pollster Kos Samaras declared on Sunday that Labor’s “red wall” was crumbling and it now resembled a “red barb wire fence”.
Federal Labor MPs told The Australian on Sunday there were concerns about holding onto the Victorian electorates of Chisholm, McEwen and Aston, but believed the Liberals would not succeed in their targeting of the western Melbourne seats of Hawke and Bruce.
Several of those federal members said crime had been a major issue raised by constituents in recent months, meaning Mr Albanese was being saddled with the Allan government’s failures on the issue.
“It was a massive whack,” one MP said. “They are shitty with Labor because they don’t feel we are focused on their priorities.”
When asked by The Australian what the swing against state Labor meant for Mr Albanese’s government in the upcoming federal election, Ms Allan warned that voters were sending all governments messages about the cost-of-living crisis.
“We know that in the global cost-of-living crisis, governments around the world are being sent a message, governments around the country are being sent a message,” she said.
“People want their governments and their members of parliament focused on them, and they’re looking for support from their governments.”
Ms Allan said federal Labor had “rolled out a range of important initiatives that focus on working people and their families”, but “we all know that there is more to do”.
“It’s an absolute privilege to be in a Labor government, because it means you can listen and you can act. It means you can take the action, work hard, fight hard, every single day for working people and families who need a Labor government,” she said.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher played down the federal implications from the Saturday by-election results.
“The federal election will be a real choice,” Senator Gallagher said. “Our focus will be selling what we have done and what we will do, and that will be in stark contrast to Peter Dutton and what he will do.”
Liberal MPs said the Werribee result showed the western Melbourne seats of Hawke, Holt and Bruce, held by frontbencher Julian Hill, were in play.
A Liberal MP said the by-election showed the Labor brand was “toxic” in Victoria, and there was not much time to turn it around.
“Bruce and Holt have very similar demographics. Very high migrant communities, very high mortgage stress and quite a lot of crime,” the MP said.
“Also there is an infrastructure deficit – you spend hours of your day in traffic if you live there.”
Liberal MPs said the growing number of anti-Semitic hate crimes made the usual state issue of crime resonate federally.
Labor MPs also played down the result by arguing the vote away from Labor typically went to minor party candidates rather than the Liberals.
A Labor MP argued it was a referendum on a state government’s performance rather than a head-to-head contest between Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton at the upcoming federal poll.
The MP said Bill Shorten’s success in the “super Saturday” by-elections ahead of the 2019 poll showed why they should be taken with a grain of salt.
“It is a free kick, not a choice between who will be running the show for the next three years,” the MP said.
The Werribee backlash has also put pressure on Ms Allan’s leadership, less than two years before the next state election.
Asked if she was the right person to lead Labor, Ms Allan said: “We know by-elections are tough for governments. We know that’s particularly so for governments where we’re in the midst of a global cost-of-living crisis, and my focus is on supporting those working people and families who need government working for them.
“I know that there is more to do to build on the work we’ve already been doing to support working people and families, but we’ve heard very clearly that people are looking to governments to do more, and we are listening to that and we will.
“By-elections are an opportunity for communities to send a message and to make sure their voice is being heard, and I have been listening to the messages that Victorians have been giving me since I had the privilege of becoming Premier.
“And I will always listen to working people and families across the state, but also, importantly, I will fight hard and work hard for them every single day.”
Asked again if she was the right person to lead, Ms Allan said: “I will work hard and fight hard for working people and families every single day who need a Labor government who is listening to them and that’s certainly what we’ve been doing in Werribee, for example, speaking to the community of Werribee, but more importantly, listening and responding with real action.”
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