SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s progressive Victorian government won re-election on Saturday, clearing the way for spending on infrastructure, education and healthcare.
After eight years in power, centre-left Labor is tipped to beat the Liberal-National coalition opposition and the government, led by Daniel Andrews, won comfortably in the poll on Thursday. Seven.
With 67% of votes counted, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Sunday predicted Labor would win 49 seats in the state’s lower house and the Liberal-National coalition would win 24.
45 seats are needed to form a majority government in Victoria’s 88-seat legislative assembly.
“I’m very humbled and very grateful, very grateful that Victorians have re-elected a Labor government with a majority,” Andrews told ABC television on Sunday morning.
Four years ago, Labor returned to power in a landslide, winning just under two-thirds of the seats, but the vote in the final days of the campaign suggested a tighter race. .
Entering the campaign, both fronts pledged millions of dollars to develop the state’s infrastructure, education and healthcare systems.
Labor has committed to building a rail project around the state capital Melbourne, which local media estimates will cost around A$125 billion ($85 billion), but the union, led by Matthew Guy leads, vowing to shelve if elected.
Guy admitted his Conservative coalition has “a lot of work to do” following its third consecutive election defeat to Andrews, The Guardian reported on Sunday.
Victoria, with its capital Melbourne, is Australia’s second most populous state after New South Wales.
Melbourne, a city of 5 million people, has had more COVID-19 lockdowns under the Andrews government than any other city in the world, and the prime minister on Sunday referred to “the period unprecedented” in the history of the state.
“You don’t get to choose the challenges you face, that’s what leadership means,” he told reporters in Melbourne.
