00:00Putting on a brave face as Labor's Werribee heartland no longer beats true.
00:08We have an outstanding local Labor candidate who has worked his backside off.
00:15Labor's primary vote crashed but the result is too close to call.
00:24Candidate Steve Murphy and the Liberals toasting what was thought to be near impossible.
00:28Labor's sending a big message that safe outer suburban seats can no longer be taken for granted.
00:35By-elections are tough.
00:37But this was a really tough result.
00:40Labor's primary vote collapsed from 45% to 28.7%.
00:43While the Liberals' primary rose slightly, it was independents and minor parties which
00:48benefited from voter hostility towards the government.
00:51With the close of counting, a 10.4% two-party swing put Labor ahead by just 441 votes.
00:57But there's 1,000 more ballots to come, putting the result on a knife's edge.
01:02And it's absolutely clear from listening that we need to do more, we must do more and we
01:07will do more.
01:08Jacinta Allen blames global inflation for much of her government woes, but voters expressed
01:13anger at lacklustre infrastructure and rising crime.
01:17It's very clear that the community is sending a message to government and MPs everywhere.
01:22You've got to do more to listen to us, you've got to do more to help us.
01:26But there's no indication what that might be.
01:29There is a message for us as well.
01:30It is time for us to put forward our policies to be the alternative government.
01:35Brad Batten's savouring a sweet victory, less than two months since he rolled John Pasuto.
01:40The new member for Paran, Rachel Westerway.
01:44Rachel's knocking off the Greens in the seat for the first time in 11 years, with a 13%
01:49two-party swing.
01:50I love Chapel Street but enough is enough with the crime that we've seen.
01:53People are ready for that change.
01:55They've shown Jacinta Allen they are willing to throw her out at the next election.
01:59The Greens are licking their wounds too.
02:02It was the scandalous behaviour of MP Sam Hibbons that triggered this by-election.
02:06It was a by-election held during the uni summer holidays where a lot of young people, traditionally
02:11Greens voters, weren't around, weren't able to vote.
02:14It's a complaint unlikely to win any sympathy from Labor as it sweats on the result out west.
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