The Liberals and Nationals will preference One Nation ahead of Labor at this month’s Victorian election, Opposition Leader Jess Wilson confirmed on Tuesday, The Age reported. Exceptions may be made where a candidate is found to hold offensive views.
“In terms of our how-to-vote cards, we have made the decision that we will be putting Labor, the Greens, the Socialists at the bottom of the ticket, and all other parties above that,” Wilson told a press conference on Tuesday morning, according to The Age and Guardian Australia.
“The only way to change the government is for a number one next to the Liberals and Nationals,” she said. Wilson said decisions would be made case by case, and a One Nation candidate could be placed lower if they turned out to hold offensive views. “As you would appreciate, there are more than 700 candidates at this election. The party is doing its work at the moment around due diligence to the best of our ability,” she said.
Liberal sources told Guardian Australia it was “high unlikely” that Pauline Hanson’s party would sit in the number two position on Coalition cards. They pointed to the Nepean byelection in May, where the Liberals put One Nation third, behind the Libertarian candidate. By placing the Greens and the Victorian Socialists below One Nation, the Coalition’s cards are also a blow to Greens campaigns in seats such as Richmond, Pascoe Vale and Preston, the Guardian reported.
The decision echoes the Coalition’s approach in 2022, when the Liberals preferenced One Nation ahead of Labor in seats where it ran candidates, according to The Age. One Nation, which is running candidates in nearly every lower house seat and every upper house region this year, has consistently put Labor and the Greens last. “We want them gone. That’s why we put them last,” One Nation’s James Ashby told Guardian Australia last week.
The Age reported the move could cost the Coalition support in some metropolitan or culturally diverse electorates where Hanson’s party is unpopular. One Liberal candidate, speaking anonymously, told the paper they would have preferred to place One Nation lower to avoid a backlash from Asian voters in their electorate. Wilson has ruled out any formal deal with One Nation.
Labor minister Anthony Carbines said Labor was taking a “principled stand” and would put One Nation last. “Jess Wilson has made it clear, because they want to form government with One Nation, they are also going to preference with One Nation. It’s all nudge-nudge wink-wink, we can all see it,” he said, according to the Guardian. He told reporters Labor would likely preference the Greens ahead of the Liberals.
Labor’s own preference choices are also under scrutiny. Labor sources confirmed to Guardian Australia that the party would run an open ticket in Prahran and Caulfield, urging a first vote for its candidates without directing preferences. That could deprive the Greens of preferences in Prahran, which the Liberals’ Rachel Westaway holds on a 1.3 per cent margin. Caulfield is held by Liberal deputy leader David Southwick on a 2.1 per cent margin.
Victorians vote on Saturday 28 November. Under Victorian Electoral Commission rules, registered how-to-vote cards are the only electoral material that can be handed out within 400 metres of a voting centre entrance during voting hours on election day. The commission notes that a how-to-vote card is only a suggestion, and voters can number the boxes in any order they choose.
