Daniel Andrews creates history

NehaKolape

Daniel Andrews is Victoria’s new premier, consigning Denis Napthine’s Coalition to being the state’s first one-term government in 60 years.
Amid an anti-Coalition backlash over rising unemployment, the East West Link, and the Abbott government, Labor has picked up at least 46 seats in the 88-seat lower house, winning the critical sandbelt electorates of Mordialloc, Carrum, and possibly Bentleigh and Frankston, while retaining seats around Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong.

Daniel Andrews is Victoria’s new premier, consigning Denis Napthine’s Coalition to being the state’s first one-term government in 60 years.
Amid an anti-Coalition backlash over rising unemployment, the East West Link, and the Abbott government, Labor has picked up at least 46 seats in the 88-seat lower house, winning the critical sandbelt electorates of Mordialloc, Carrum, and possibly Bentleigh and Frankston, while retaining seats around Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong.

Minutes later, premier-elect Daniel Andrews arrived at the Mulgrave Country Club with his wife, Cath, to claim victory, declaring the win a clear rejection of the “tired, negative, politics” of the Coalition’s campaign.
“Work will begin tomorrow because I will not waste even a single day delivering on each of the commitments we made,” he said.

“The people of Victoria have today given to us the greatest of gifts, entrusted to us the greatest of responsibilities, bestowed upon us the greatest of honours, ladies and gentleman, we will not let them down.”

The recent victory has consigned the Coalition to becoming the first one term government in Victoria since 1955. Furthermore, Dr Napthine’s long held-dream of political legitimacy – yesterday was the first time he faced the people after taking over from Mr Baillieu last year – is now all but over.

Further south-east in Frankston, Liberal candidate Sean Armistead was also at risk of losing to Labor, despite securing the preferences of rogue independent Geoff Shaw.

And in other surprise outcomes, Liberal MP Clem Newton-Brown was under threat from Labor in the seat of Prahran, while Nationals MP Russell Northe faced significant swings against him in Morwell, partly on the back of anger over the Hazelwood mine fire.

Mr Andrews, meanwhile, ran a highly disciplined and well targeted campaign, particularly in the sandbelt seats that fell to the Coalition in 2010. It worked: with more than half the votes counted, Labor candidate Sonya Kilkenny was as on track to beat Liberal backbencher Donna Bauer in Carrum; the ALP’s Tim Richardson was ahead of incumbent Lorraine Wreford in Mordialloc, while in the volatile seat of Bentleigh, Nick Staikos was ahead of Liberal incumbent Elizabeth Miller.

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten – who branded Mr Andrews a “Labor hero” – said it was no surprise the Prime Minister had stayed away in the final days before the poll.