The collapse of public support for the Victorian government is reshaping state and federal politics before this year’s federal election.
A dramatic collapse in popular support for the Victorian government has heaped pressure on Premier Jacinta Allan to accept an offer of an additional $2 billion in federal government funding to build a rail line to Melbourne Airport instead of demanding more cash for the Suburban Rail Loop.
The new money would be used to meet the cost of a new Sunshine station, where the airport link would connect to existing suburban and regional rail networks. It would bring the estimated $13 billion project close to being fully funded. Federal Minister for Infrastructure Catherine King said funding decisions on the airport rail link were not linked to the Suburban Rail Loop. “The two projects are separate,” she said.Allan’s apparent unpopularity with voters – although disputed by her supporters – has reached a point where the Liberal Party is planning to commission campaign billboards and pamphlets with her image alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
In a sign of the Albanese government’s plummeting fortunes in Victoria, the party has all but abandoned campaigning in Liberal-held marginal seats such as Casey, Menzies and Deakin, despite nearly snatching them at the last election. “We could detect it and see it in our groups,” he said. “It aligns with what we are seeing out there.
When asked to comment on the poll results, Victorian Deputy Premier Ben Carroll said there was no threat to Allan’s leadership and backed her to turn things around. “Every day she is working for Victorians,” he said. “Every day our cabinet and our colleagues are working hard ... for Victorians.”
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