Right now, parties are deep in preselections – that messy, behind-the-scenes phase where personalities, factions and egos jostle, jive and generally connive to out‑manoeuvre one another for a shot at power.
Locally, things are moving albeit slowly. Parties are being ultra‑careful, timing announcements with near‑military precision. But why should the public always be the last to know? We think subscribers deserve a sneak peek before things go official.
Labor: Plenty of confidence but holding their cards close
Labor feels pretty confident about holding Nina Taylor’s majority in Albert Park. Where things get trickier is their ambition to pinch the three local Liberal seats.
In Prahran, they’ve settled on Stonnington councillor Megan Hopper as their candidate – but remarkably, they still haven’t made it official. A similar story is playing out in Caulfield, where Labor reportedly has a candidate lined up with solid connections and experience handling sensitive issues… but again, no announcement just yet.
Greens: Some lights are already green
The Greens are a little further along. They’ve listed Angelica Di Camillo as their Prahran candidate, which won’t surprise anyone who remembers she ran in last year’s by‑election and finished less than 1,000 votes short.
It’s also looking likely that former federal candidate Sonya Semmens will take on Albert Park, while Ebony Bain is being backed in Brighton. The remaining question mark is Caulfield, where Greens members will vote on their candidate on 29 April.
Liberals: A case of the candidate blues
The Liberals’ three sitting MPs will no doubt be breathing a sigh of relief that they’ve dodged the kind of public preselection brawls we’ve seen elsewhere in the party.
But Albert Park? That’s another story. Everyone we speak to offers some variation of “still looking”, “focus is elsewhere” or “it’s just not what it used to be.”
Add to that reports in The Age that Liberal candidates are expected to cough up $5,000 for professional vetting, and it’s not hard to see why enthusiasm might be waning.
Independents: A crowded field ahead?
With the usual suspects (Family First, Animal Justice, Legalise Cannabis and One Nation) plus a fresh wave of independents, TWiSK is expecting as many as ten minor or independent candidates in each seat.
One of the first to signal her intentions is Georgie Dragwidge, who is again set to run as an independent in Albert Park – though she hasn’t gone fully public just yet.
If you’ve got early mail, we want to hear about first
Greg Day gday@gdaystkilda.com.au or 0418345829 or 31 Alma Road, St Kilda 3182.
