Victoria's election campaign has taken an unusual shape, with three distinct forces competing for government. The Liberal-National Coalition, led by Jess Wilson, is campaigning on a classic opposition platform, hoping to make the election a referendum on 12 years of Labor rule.
One Nation, meanwhile, has released its full platform with a heavy emphasis on law and order and tax relief, paired with Trumpian rhetoric about locking political opponents in prison. Polls suggest the party could attract around one in four voters in the state, despite having provided limited policy details until recently.
The third opposition is Labor itself. Premier Ben Carroll, in office for two months, has been at pains to distance himself from the governments of Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan, despite having served as a minister in their teams. On Sunday, Carroll promised to wind back land tax increases implemented by Labor in 2023 — another policy that undoes the work of his predecessors.
Carroll has sought to focus on local benefits, notably in his own once-safe but now marginal electorate of Niddrie, where he promised a new station as part of the long-awaited rail line to the airport. "Hi, I'm Ben Carroll, the airport rail premier," he said this week. The project, however, has faced delays. Carroll now says trains will run to East Keilor station in 2031, but no one will say when trains will reach the airport itself. The Upfield line upgrades have been pushed back to 2033, despite chronic under-service.
The strategy highlights a risky balancing act: the airport rail project was championed by Labor for years before being put on ice in favour of the Suburban Rail Loop. As a minister, Jacinta Allan said in 2022 trains would be running to the airport in 2029.