Victorian election: Greens feel heat as major parties ponder preferences

The Victorian Greens are pleading with Labor to preference them above the Liberal Party in the November 26 state election.

Daniel Andrews and wife Catherine on Wednesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

The Victorian Greens are pleading with Labor to preference them above the Liberal Party in the November 26 state election, as the Liberals threaten Labor with plans to preference the Greens in key inner city seats which could make or break Premier Daniel Andrews’ hold on majority government.

Mr Andrews would not be drawn on Wednesday on a plan Labor has put to the Coalition, in which the ALP would preference the Liberals over teal candidates in crucial eastern suburbs electorates, in exchange for the Liberals preferencing Labor above the Greens in the inner city.

The tussle over preferences came as both major parties announced health commitments, with Mr Andrews visiting nurses union headquarters to announce $5000 sign-on bonuses for new public hospital nurses, and Liberal leader Matthew Guy unveiling a $66m package to increase the use of medical robots, with the aim of halving Victoria’s elective surgery waiting list.

Asked whether he wanted his party to strike a deal with the Liberals over preferences, Mr Andrews said: “That’s a matter for the party. I’m not here to talk about preferences.”

Mr Guy similarly said the issue was a matter for his party. “I’ll have a chat with the (Liberal Party) state director (Sam McQuestin) when it becomes relevant. We still don’t know who’s standing where,” he said, ahead of nominations closing on Friday.

The Australian revealed on Wednesday the Liberal Party is ­investigating preferencing the Greens over Labor in crucial seats amid internal discussions about how to maximise damage to Labor in the inner city via preferences.

Labor is vulnerable to losing seats to the Greens in the inner Melbourne seats of Richmond, Northcote and Albert Park, and has been hoping the Liberal Party will preference it over the Greens.

But the Liberal Party also has its challenges in the inner city.

Senior sources said Labor held tentative discussions with the Liberal Party about a potential deal involving limited preference support in the key teal seats of Kew and Hawthorn.

The Liberal Party had wanted Labor to preference it over the Greens and teals but this deal is now most unlikely, sources said.

It is expected the Liberal Party will preference the Greens ahead of Labor in Richmond, Northcote and Albert Park.

The inner city seats have become complicated for the Liberal and Labor parties, with voters increasingly shifting to the left, particularly young voters.

The Liberal Party is running billboards declaring “Put Labor last” and is expected to broadly back preference deals along this line. Senior Liberals have, however, said the party may have to consider whether or not it uses Greens’ preferences more widely – and strategically – to damage Labor and potentially the teals.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Greens issued a statement calling on Labor “to preference the Greens and other progressive independents ahead of the Liberals this election”.

“The Greens are focused on pushing the next government to go further and faster on climate action, housing affordability and integrity,” the party said.

“ … the Greens will preference Labor above the Liberals in every seat across the state.”

The Greens warned of a “very real chance that a far-right candidate could be elected to the next crossbench” in the upper house, due to an ”undemocratic” voting system which the government has resisted calls to reform.