Global cost crisis hurt us, says Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan

Jacinta Allan says Labor’s Werribee by-election wreck was made worse by global cost of living crisis.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan on Monday. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Jacinta Allan has doubled-down on claims the Werribee by-election backlash was intensified by the global cost-of-living crisis as the fate of the Labor heartland seat continues to hang in the balance.

While spending a second day conceding her government needed to do more for outer-suburban communities like Werribee, Victoria’s Premier also continued to partly blame the collapse in Labor’s vote on international ­issues. Ms Allan said by-elections were traditionally challenging for long-term governments “and never more so in a global cost-of-living crisis”.

As Labor continued to be buffeted by the historic by-election backlash that saw the ALP’s primary vote crash by 16 per cent, Deputy Premier Ben Carroll ­issued a blunt assessment of the result.

“They have sent us a message that we need to do better, and we will … it is unacceptable the swing that occurred … we need to redouble our efforts,” Mr Carroll told 3AW.

“We are focused on them … we need to make sure they know we are with them, that we are supporting them through a cost-of-living crisis, and that we will continue to invest in them. People are always going to use that (by-election) to send a message, and it’s a message that is being heard loud and clear. It is a message that is being understood.”

Amid the fallout, the Victorian Electoral Commission failed to update the “down to the wire” count in Werribee on Monday that has Labor leading the Liberals 50.55-49.45 per cent. It could be days before a winner is ­declared.

Victoria’s electoral commissioner, Sven Bluemmel, defended the performance, saying the commission was waiting on postal votes and “accuracy over speed” was critical.

“We understand the desire for an immediate result, however, counting takes time and we prioritise accuracy over speed during counting processes,” Mr Bluemmel said.

“This is crucial to ensure electoral integrity and a result that stands up to scrutiny. What matters most is making sure that every vote is counted accurately, and this takes time.

“Our systems are working as intended, with each vote scrutinised by candidate-appointed representatives monitoring the count at each step of the process.”

With Labor’s fate in Werribee hanging in the balance, federal Victorian Labor MPs, including Sam Rae, played down the possible implications for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the upcoming federal election. Mr Rae, the member for Hawke, ­argued voters would differentiate between state and federal issues.

Ms Allan again stressed that her government, which faces a general election in November 2026, was listening to the Werribee voters and would work harder to deliver more for them.

“By-elections are absolutely an opportunity for communities to make their voice heard, and we have seen that over the weekend,” she said. “I’ve understood for some time now … that local communities are looking to governments to do more, and we must do more. We must listen to the concerns of communities like Werribee, but also from right across the state, communities who are looking for their government, for their local member of parliament, to do more, particularly as some of the particular pressures that are being faced by families right now.”

Asked if she thought the message from the Werribee by-election was that Labor was on the nose in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Ms Allan said: “What it tells me is we’ve got to work harder.

“If you look at the results, and if you’re doing a thorough analysis, the message was sent to all political parties to be better, to do better, to work harder, to be focused on them and that’s certainly what I’ve always done every single day as a member of parliament, is to be focused on what local communities are looking for from their local MP and then from their Labor government.”