Labor Blames Greens in Key Seats as Albanese Looks to Expand Majority
Labor has criticised the Greens for potentially damaging its chances in two tightly contested electorates, while a confident Anthony Albanese aims to build on his current 78-seat majority.
Speaking from the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday morning, Albanese expressed optimism about becoming the first prime minister since John Howard to win re-election. “I do [feel confident] because I lead an outstanding team,” he told Sunrise on Seven. “I’m the captain, but I’m not playing every position on the field.”
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also voiced confidence in an historic upset, claiming voters had grown disillusioned with the government. “I’m confident Australians have seen through a poor government,” he said, adding that he believed “quiet Australians” would back the Coalition.
Tensions Flare in Deakin and Menzies
Labor’s focus includes several marginal Liberal seats, such as Dickson, Sturt, Leichhardt, and the Melbourne electorates of Deakin and Menzies. In the latter two, tensions rose after Greens volunteers were seen distributing “open” how-to-vote cards that did not rank other candidates beyond the Greens’ own.
Though the Greens’ official website places Labor candidates ahead of their Liberal rivals in both seats—following their usual approach—the lack of a formal recommendation on polling day frustrated Labor operatives. A campaign message from Labor warned the move could “jeopardise Labor forming government,” emphasizing how crucial preferences are in keeping Peter Dutton out of office.
The Greens responded by saying such open cards are not unusual and accused Labor of fearmongering. They also pointed to Labor’s own use of open cards in Macnamara—where Josh Burns faces a three-way contest—as a source of their discontent.
Deakin was won by the Liberals in 2022 with a margin of just 375 votes, and Menzies by 1,377. Following boundary adjustments, Menzies is now even tighter. Labor previously secured around 90% of Greens preferences in both, totaling roughly 14,000 votes combined.
Coalition Hopes for Gains in Melbourne’s Outer Ring
Peter Dutton’s team is eyeing significant swings in Melbourne’s outer suburbs, targeting traditionally safe Labor seats like McEwen and Hawke. Both sides anticipate Victoria will see the largest shifts, fueled in part by dissatisfaction with the state government.
In contrast, Labor feels more secure in New South Wales, defending marginal seats like Bennelong, Gilmore, and Paterson—though the Liberals remain hopeful of gains there.
Polling closed at 6pm AEST in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, and the ACT, with early results expected by 7pm local time. However, the high number of pre-poll and postal votes may delay clear outcomes until later in the evening.
Due to time zone differences, polling stations in South Australia and the Northern Territory closed half an hour later, and in Western Australia two hours after the eastern states.
