Becoming the first government in more than 100 years to take a district off the opposition outside a national vote.
Anthony Albanese, Australia's Prime Minister
Sun, April 2, 2023
By Renju Jose
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday he would not "get carried away" after his Labor party defied the odds to snatch a seat from the opposition at a by-election, a 100-year first, even as voters battled higher living costs.
Labor's Mary Doyle won the weekend by-election for the lower house federal seat of Aston in Melbourne's eastern suburbs with a swing of more than 6%, in a blow to the conservative Liberal-National opposition coalition in one of its traditional strongholds in Victoria state.
Albanese said the government's focus on making a practical difference in people's lives resonated with voters, who understood the spike in living costs was because of global supply chain problems linked to Russia's war in Ukraine.
But despite calling the election result "a historic win", Albanese said his government would remain grounded.
"This was a significant victory ... but we don't get carried away with this," Albanese told ABC Radio in an interview.
The last time the opposition lost a by-election to a government candidate was in 1920, in the Western Australia state goldfields electorate of Kalgoorlie.
The by-election in Aston was triggered after former Liberal minister Alan Tudge, who won with a slim 2.8% margin in the 2022 general election, quit politics due to personal reasons.
Albanese, who is set to finish a year in power next month, has enjoyed high approval ratings since becoming prime minister. A newspoll published by the Australian newspaper on Monday showed him stretching his lead to 58% as the preferred leader, eclipsing opposition leader Peter Dutton's 26% support.
The survey of 1,500 voters also showed Labor extending its lead on a two-party preferred basis to 55%, against the opposition's 45%.
The by-election win comes a week after Labor returned to power in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state. The win means the party now governs at state and federal levels across Australia's mainland, leaving island state Tasmania as the conservative outlier.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Jamie Freed)
Australia’s Government Strengthens Grip With By-Election Win
Ben Westcott
Sat, April 1, 2023
(Bloomberg) -- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese won a historic victory at a by-election in the state of Victoria, becoming the first government in more than 100 years to take a district off the opposition outside a national vote.
The ruling Labor party’s candidate, Mary Doyle, was set to win the district of Aston in eastern Melbourne, according to Australian Broadcasting Corp. projections. The victory bolsters Albanese’s parliamentary majority and confirms his government’s popularity after 10 months in office amid rising interest rates and inflation.
Following the Aston win, Albanese’s government holds 78 districts in the 151-member House of Representatives. The result comes a week after Labor won an election in New South Wales, the most populous state, meaning the center-left now controls all seven state and territory governments on Australia’s mainland. Only the southern island state of Tasmania has a center-right government.
A by-election is a vote to fill a vacancy caused by the departure of a lawmaker outside a general election, with Saturday’s ballot triggered by former minister Alan Tudge’s resignation from parliament. No government has won a seat off an opposition party at a by-election since 1920, and ahead of the vote it was expected that the center-right Liberal Party would narrowly retain the district.
The loss is likely to spark questions about the performance of Liberal Party leader and former Defence Minister Peter Dutton after less than one year in the role. Dutton has generally stuck to the script of an opposition leader, regularly rejecting government policies, including increased action on climate change.
Dutton, speaking on the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday, said he took responsibility for the election loss and would be analyzing the result. But he still had the support of his party, he said.
“We have a particular problem in Victoria, there’s no question about that,” he said. “I think there are issues in relation to policy and personnel, issues in relation to our campaigning techniques.”
The party would not be rushing to announce any policy changes, Dutton said.
“In recent years the Liberal Party has allowed itself to be defined by our opponents and I think it’s time for us to stand up for what we believe in, whether it’s trendy or not,” he said.
Anthony Albanese, Australia's Prime Minister
Sun, April 2, 2023
By Renju Jose
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday he would not "get carried away" after his Labor party defied the odds to snatch a seat from the opposition at a by-election, a 100-year first, even as voters battled higher living costs.
Labor's Mary Doyle won the weekend by-election for the lower house federal seat of Aston in Melbourne's eastern suburbs with a swing of more than 6%, in a blow to the conservative Liberal-National opposition coalition in one of its traditional strongholds in Victoria state.
Albanese said the government's focus on making a practical difference in people's lives resonated with voters, who understood the spike in living costs was because of global supply chain problems linked to Russia's war in Ukraine.
But despite calling the election result "a historic win", Albanese said his government would remain grounded.
"This was a significant victory ... but we don't get carried away with this," Albanese told ABC Radio in an interview.
The last time the opposition lost a by-election to a government candidate was in 1920, in the Western Australia state goldfields electorate of Kalgoorlie.
The by-election in Aston was triggered after former Liberal minister Alan Tudge, who won with a slim 2.8% margin in the 2022 general election, quit politics due to personal reasons.
Albanese, who is set to finish a year in power next month, has enjoyed high approval ratings since becoming prime minister. A newspoll published by the Australian newspaper on Monday showed him stretching his lead to 58% as the preferred leader, eclipsing opposition leader Peter Dutton's 26% support.
The survey of 1,500 voters also showed Labor extending its lead on a two-party preferred basis to 55%, against the opposition's 45%.
The by-election win comes a week after Labor returned to power in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state. The win means the party now governs at state and federal levels across Australia's mainland, leaving island state Tasmania as the conservative outlier.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Jamie Freed)
Australia’s Government Strengthens Grip With By-Election Win
Ben Westcott
Sat, April 1, 2023
(Bloomberg) -- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese won a historic victory at a by-election in the state of Victoria, becoming the first government in more than 100 years to take a district off the opposition outside a national vote.
The ruling Labor party’s candidate, Mary Doyle, was set to win the district of Aston in eastern Melbourne, according to Australian Broadcasting Corp. projections. The victory bolsters Albanese’s parliamentary majority and confirms his government’s popularity after 10 months in office amid rising interest rates and inflation.
Following the Aston win, Albanese’s government holds 78 districts in the 151-member House of Representatives. The result comes a week after Labor won an election in New South Wales, the most populous state, meaning the center-left now controls all seven state and territory governments on Australia’s mainland. Only the southern island state of Tasmania has a center-right government.
A by-election is a vote to fill a vacancy caused by the departure of a lawmaker outside a general election, with Saturday’s ballot triggered by former minister Alan Tudge’s resignation from parliament. No government has won a seat off an opposition party at a by-election since 1920, and ahead of the vote it was expected that the center-right Liberal Party would narrowly retain the district.
The loss is likely to spark questions about the performance of Liberal Party leader and former Defence Minister Peter Dutton after less than one year in the role. Dutton has generally stuck to the script of an opposition leader, regularly rejecting government policies, including increased action on climate change.
Dutton, speaking on the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday, said he took responsibility for the election loss and would be analyzing the result. But he still had the support of his party, he said.
“We have a particular problem in Victoria, there’s no question about that,” he said. “I think there are issues in relation to policy and personnel, issues in relation to our campaigning techniques.”
The party would not be rushing to announce any policy changes, Dutton said.
“In recent years the Liberal Party has allowed itself to be defined by our opponents and I think it’s time for us to stand up for what we believe in, whether it’s trendy or not,” he said.
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