Liberal candidate holds out hope for historic win in key Werribee by-election

In a late message to voters ahead of Saturday’s vote, the would-be member for Werribee, Steve Murphy, said after a decade of Labor rule in Victoria there was a mood for change.

Liberal candidate Steve Murphy at a polling booth in the Werribee by-election in Victoria. Picture: Mark Stewart

The Liberal candidate who hopes to kickstart the demise of the Allan government by winning the Werribee by-election has accused the Labor Premier of a “knee jerk reaction” to bad polling.

In a late message to voters ahead of Saturday’s vote, the would-be member for Werribee, Steve Murphy, said after a decade of Labor rule there was a mood for change in the outer western suburban electorate.

Mr Murphy urged the community to vote for him so that he could put pressure on the state government to tackle crime and cost-of-living pressures and improve local infrastructure.

“Vote Liberal to get change in Werribee,” Mr Murphy said.

“People are sick of being stuck in traffic for one and a half hours to do a trip that shouldn’t take even half that long.

“The lack of infrastructure, the road networks here have been totally neglected and people are upset about it.”

Victorian Labor holds Werribee with a 10.9 per cent margin, but with statewide polls showing ALP support plunging and by-elections traditionally sparking a large protest vote, a Liberal win remains possible.

It’s understood Jacinta Allan has ordered her caucus members to go to Werribee amid grave fears Labor could lose the seat for the first time since 1979.

On Friday, pre-polling closed about 6pm, with Labor candidate John Lister saying he would have the advantage of working within government when advocating for his community, and vowed to push for “practical solutions,” including a new road link to reduce congestion and cost-of-living solutions assistance to support families with things like fuel prices.

“There’s a lot of noise around this by-election, and I think it’s ­really important to look for someone like me who has grown up here and lives here and wants to give back everything that this town, this community, has given me, and give my all as their member of parliament,” Mr Lister said.

“I’m going to be out there listening to what they (the community) need and taking that to government and fighting for what Werribee needs.

“People in Werribee are practical, they want someone who doesn’t just protest, they want someone who has practical solutions and will work every day to take their views to the people in charge.”

Voters in the Greens-held seat of Prahran also vote on Saturday in a head-to-head contest with the Liberals as Labor is not running a candidate.

The Greens have a buffer of around 11 per cent over the Liberals, but without Labor running the preference flows could sweep the Liberals to power.

A new Jewish-led grassroots political campaign urging voters to place the Greens last on their ballot papers has been active in Prahran, telling voters the rise of anti-Semitism in Victoria was the doing of Labor and the Greens.

The Liberals’ candidate for Prahran Rachel Westaway, Independent Tony Lupton and Libertarian Mark Dessou have all united to put the Greens last.