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Victorian election: where the major parties stand

Getty/AAP

Getty/AAP

The last-minute bid for votes in the upcoming Victorian election has begun, with recent polls predicting the Coalition government will be knocked out of office in late November after just one term.

It hasn’t been a trouble-free first term for the Napthine Government. Two years in, with voter support falling, the party abandoned its leader and newly-elected premier Ted Baillieu, and handed the job to country vet Denis Napthine, who has projected a more energetic style of leadership.

Ted Baillieu

Ted Baillieu. Photo: AAP

Writing in the Herald Sun this week, Peter Costello, a key player in the Liberal Party’s Victorian branch, wrote that the Baillieu Government “got off to a slow start” after its slender – and surprise – election win in 2010.

“Not much happened,” Costello wrote, adding: “Only a change of Leader and a realisation that the electoral term was more than halfway over got the Government to show some energy. It developed a proposal for a $6 billion East-West road tunnel to be built by the private sector. Construction is due to commence soon. The question the voters will decide is whether it has done enough.”

The polls may offer an insight into the answer to that question. While pollsters have Denis Napthine on top as preferred leader, the state government is trailing Labor on a two-party-preferred basis, 44 to 56 per cent, in the latest Ipsos poll.

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Political commentators like Monash University senior lecturer in politics Nick Economou say the election will be won by the party which can deliver disciplined, unified governance – something he believes has eluded the Napthine government.

The New Daily looks at where the major parties stand on key election issues like transport and education, and gets Professor Economou’s view on each.

Transport

The $17 billion East West Link project has emerged as the major policy difference in the lead-up to the election, with the Coalition government claiming the new road will relieve gridlock and create jobs.

The project has been met with fierce opposition and court challenges from inner-city councils, despite an independent report in 2008 finding a need for the road link.

The Victorian Labor Party says it will dump the project if elected, controversially promising to rip-up contracts that have already been signed by the state Coalition government.

The protesters typically form a human chain around a test drilling site and then are forced to move by police.

The East West Link has been met with fierce opposition and protests.

Coalition policy:

• Build East West Link
• Build an airport rail link between the city and the airport
• Remove 40 rail level crossings
• Build a metro rail link between South Yarra and Southern Cross

Labor policy:

• Abandon East West Link
• Remove 50 rail level crossings
• Build five new stations in the CBD and expand the City Loop
• Purchase 30 new metro trains and 20 new regional V/Line carriages.

Professor Economou says: The East West Link is politically tied to important seats around Melbourne, with no political gain for Labor in pursuing the project.

“The Eastern Freeway and the tunnel would only be something of direct benefit to people who are clustered in a whole lot of safe to slightly marginal Liberal seats in the eastern suburbs,” Mr Economou says.

Education

For the Victorian Labor Party, education is a heartland issue and it has put it at the heart of its pitch to voters, promising funding for 10 new tech schools, extra resources for schools in disadvantaged areas, and a rescue package for TAFE institutions.

The Coalition government has also made education a high priority, with a promise of new schools if re-elected, but its commitment to TAFE sector appears to be less robust, with many technical colleges running at heavy loses and many recent campus closures.

Private school fees are expected to skyrocket in the next five years.

Both parties promise to build new schools around the state.

Coalition policy:

• Build 24 new schools
• Improve teaching and training standards
• Introduce specialist math and science teachers

Labor policy:

• Build 10 new technical schools
• Bailout TAFE sector with $320 million package
• $510 million in funding for government schools

Professor Economou says: Opposition leader Daniel Andrews is showing more confidence in his policies as the election goes on, Mr Economou says, with polls showing voters think Labor is better on education.

“The last six months Labor has been quite forceful on a number of positions it has taken, such as the education policy initiative, and I think it’s showing a degree of great confidence on the side of the Labor.”

Health

The Coalition government says it will spend $15 billion on heath, including establishing new hospitals in Bendigo and Box Hill, as well as Australia’s first cardiac hospital.

Paramedic pay and ambulance wait times have plagued Mr Napthine during his time in office, with June performance data showing ambulance responses are almost five minutes outside of target times.

Mr Andrews has promised to legislate nurse-to-patient ratios, audit the entire hospital system, with Labor ranked by voters ahead of Liberal at managing health.

Paramedics have been writing anti-government slogans on ambulances as the pay dispute continues.

Ambulance wait times have plagued the Napthine government.

Coalition policy:

• Establish a specialist cardiac hospital, Monash Heart
• Build new hospitals for Box Hill and Bendigo
• Build a new comprehensive cancer centre

Labor policy:

• $60 million for new medical research centre at Alfred Hospital
• Legislate nurse-to-patient ratios
• Reduce ambulance wait times

Professor Economou says: Ambulance wait times have been a large issue in regional Victoria, with Mr Economou stating “service delivery to the provincial cities is really important.”

“The ambulance issue has the potential to hurt the government in some of the regional areas where they are, thanks to electorate redistribution, defending a number of regional seats.”

Greens ‘ones to watch’

The Greens have seen massive growth in popularity since the 2011 election, with their primary vote surging from 11 per cent to 17 per cent.

Professor Economou says: The minority party may win up to four seats in the legislative council, and possibly one in the lower house.

“I suspect they’ll hold the balance of power in the upper house in the next parliament, regardless of who the government is,” he says.

The Victorian Greens oppose the East West Link, advocating the creation of more train and tram lines, and suggest spending on preventative health measures to prevent hospital overcrowding.

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