00:02Victorian Liberals are breathing a sigh of relief.
00:04There were genuine fears that the contest might be closer, or that the Liberals could
00:08even lose the seat.
00:09But a win is a win, and this is being seen as a confidence boost for the Liberals.
00:14This was a by-election of no big consequence, and a contest that the Labor Party did not
00:18even enter.
00:19But as Wilson says, there are lessons to be learned, and those could be some hard lessons
00:23for both the Coalition and Labor.
00:25However, insiders are aware of the challenges ahead of a fragmenting electorate.
00:29Think about this.
00:31One in four voters put One Nation first, and in more working class areas it was even higher.
00:36This is why strategists should be worried, because there are dozens of similar communities
00:40like those across Victoria.
00:42If repeated, this pattern will hurt the Coalition's quest to win the seats it needs in the outer
00:47suburbs and regions.
00:49It will also be a problem for Labor in some of its once heartland seats.
00:53Remember, the Coalition needs to win at least 16 seats in November without losing any, which
00:58is why it needs to lift its primary vote, and that's no easy task.
01:02Jess Wilson is proving popular.
01:04Without her, the result may have been worse.
01:06But questions will continue to be raised about the direction of the party and whether it tries
01:10to appeal to more One Nation voters or to the centre.
01:14Just yesterday it ramped up its political attacks on Victoria's treaty.
01:17The Coalition will continue to frame this election as a referendum on Jacinta Allen, and we'll
01:23be hoping as November nears, voters will narrow their focus back to a binary choice between
01:27Labor and the Coalition.
01:29And again, that won't be easy.
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