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The Guardian - AU
National
Gay Alcorn, Oliver Milman, Melissa Davey and Michael Safi

Victorian election 2014: Daniel Andrews leads Labor to election triumph – all the day's events

Labor leader Daniel Andrews and his wife Catherine cast their votes earlier today.
Labor leader Daniel Andrews and his wife Catherine cast their votes earlier today. Photograph: Joe Castro/AAP

Labor wins Victorian election - the final wrap

So Labor, as the opinion polls predicted, has won the Victorian election. The precise margin of victory will be known in the coming day or so, as well as the make-up of what appears to be a rather complex upper house.

While it was an election of small targets and stodgy rhetoric, it nevertheless is historic - the first time a one-term government has been kicked out of power in Victoria since 1955.

There are also national implications - Tony Abbott hasn’t helped the Victorian Coalition, although the degree can be argued, and Labor has ended a streak of depressing losses/tenuous minority government victories that have stretched back the best part of a decade in federal and state politics. To wrap up -

Thank you for joining myself, Gay Alcorn, Michael Safi and Melissa Davey and good night!

Updated

Some cross-party Tweeting

Updated

The Coalition’s post mortem of this election will invariably focus on federal issues.

Labor has been keen to pin the loss on Tony Abbott and while the Coalition officially dismisses the link, privately there’s a feeling that Denis Napthine was unable to campaign on his own strengths, such as Victoria’s budget surplus and a popular crackdown on crime.

Sean Kelly, former advisor to the Rudd and Gillard government, says:

Tony Abbott’s reaction will be very interesting.

He can of course deny this result has anything to do with him. That would be in keeping with the strategy of denial that Liberal MPs have recently begun criticising - for example on the budget, where the PM has refused to concede he has broken any promises in the face of clear evidence to the contrary.

The much smarter move would be to acknowledge voter anger and use that concession as a segue into clearing away the barnacles he recently promised to deal with.

It could be an interesting barometer of how much he’s willing to alter a strategy that hasn’t served him well.

Gay Alcorn’s analysis of the Victorian election is up and it’s highly recommended reading.

Denis Napthine, a former country vet, is like your favourite uncle – a bit of a dag but highly likeable. And the government’s management of the state’s finances was tight and responsible. It’s not obvious why Victorians decided to humiliate this particular government this way.

Check it out.

Andrews then calls his wife, Cath, his “secret weapon” and thanks her. He then thanks his children. And then Bill Shorten. And then people who didn’t even vote for him.

There are hugs all round. Daniel Andrews - the new premier of Victoria. Well done to him.

Daniel Andrews victory speech

Daniel Andrews is now giving his victory speech, acknowledging Denis Napthine’s service before calling the election a rejection of “negative politics.”

He then gets specific, saying that he’ll end the ambulance workers pay dispute, give a better deal to nurses and midwives and make Victoria the “education state.”

Andrews mentions the “ambos and firies” who stood up to say they want a government who “puts them first.” He says he will start work tomorrow to make sure this is a “fairer state...the progressive capital of our nation, the ideas capital of our nation.”

A few thoughts on Denis Napthine. It is hard to pick up any anger at the outgoing premier, even among Labor die-hards. There seems to be a recognition that Napthine is a fundamentally decent, if stolid, man focused on improvements to the state.

In some respects, he did that in his short time as premier since replacing Ted Baillieu - the financial position is something he can rightfully point to. When the terrorism frenzy was at its height recently, Napthine was an admirably calm voice of inclusion and multiculturalism.

But there were problems - Geoff Shaw, the enraged ambulance workers, the rushed, poorly-explained East West link. And, perhaps most of all, the burden of Tony Abbott, a deeply unpopular figure in Victoria.

Napthine - perhaps - deserved a little better. But he was behind for some time in the polls and was unable to show any kind of incisive thinking to turn things around.

Denis Napthine concedes defeat, stands down as Liberal leader

Denis Napthine is now making a speech to the Liberal faithful, admitting that there has been a “swing to the Labor party” and says he has called Daniel Andrews to concede defeat.

Napthine graciously congratulates Labor and then launches into a lengthy defence of his government’s record, citing Victoria’s budget surplus, law and order toughness and infrastructure building program. He urges Labor to press ahead with the East West link, despite the party’s opposition to it.

He then gets a bit more personal, thanking volunteers and the Liberal party machine. There’s a nod to Ted Baillieu, the former premier, and Napthine’s own staff and family.

Napthine then announces he is standing down as leader of the Liberal party, saying it’s time for “renewal and change.”

Polite applause for Labor’s win among Liberals

We hear Denis Napthine is now on the phone to Daniel Andrews to concede the Coalition loss. Napthine is expected to speak to a rather glum room full of Liberals within the next 15 minutes.

In glance at the seats in regional Victoria, it looks like there is an upset in Shepparton, where independent Suzanna Sheed is on course to win what is usually a very safe seat for the Nationals.

Note: this is the seat where SPC Ardmona is based, the fruit cannery that recently went through a struggle to get federal funding to prevent it shutting down.

While Peter Ryan, the leader of the Nationals, blames the Coalition’s loss on a lack of campaign “clear air” caused in part by horse racing, Labor now moves into party mode.

Victoria has kicked out a one-term government for the first time since 1955. Here is Gay Alcorn’s story on Labor’s historic win.

Meanwhile, in Mulgrave

Updated

Guardian Australia’s Michael Safi is at the Victorian Liberal’s post-election gathering at the Sofitel in Melbourne.

Michael says:

It’s a subdued atmosphere at the Grand Sofitel Ballroom, where around one hundred Liberal party members are gathered to see the results come in and eventually, hear from the premier Denis Napthine.

Post-mortems have broken out across the blue-balloon studded ballroom as it looks increasingly likely that we’re seeing a historic swing that might return to Labor the dominance in enjoyed in Victoria between 1999 and 2010.

One member has says the Coalition was hampered by the Shaw saga, the controversy over the East-West link toll road, and another negative: “Barnacles.”

Indexing the fuel excise and the $7 GP co-payment come up again and again as the glum attendees try to explain why the Napthine government wasn’t able to close Labor’s consistent election-winning lead.

There’s also a delegation of Pacific Islanders in the room, including Edward, an electoral officer from Papua New Guinea, who was invited to observe the final week of Victoria’s poll.

He says he was astounded how well co-ordinated the campaign has been, put was most shocked today by the absence of security at polling stations. “In PNG there are guards with guns,” he said.

Also surprising was the fact the votes are placed in cardboard parcels. “For us it’s heavy metal boxes.”

A beaming Mark Dreyfus, the federal shadow attorney general, has just appeared on the ABC.

Dreyfus says that Labor campaign workers said that the topic of Tony Abbott “kept coming up in their work” when door knocking in the key bayside state seats that make up his own federal electorate.

“The result seems to be a clear win for Labor in Victoria,” Dreyfus says. “Tony Abbott has been no help at all to his Liberal counterparts in Victoria. He is electoral poison.”

Dreyfus says the lessons for federal Labor is to concentrate on health, education and jobs. Which they’ve been doing anyway, apparently.

Labor has won the Victorian election, Sky and ABC say

Labor is on course for 48 seats, according to the ABC, with 45 seats, the minimum required to form government, already in the bag.

Sky has also called the election for Labor, attributing 45 seats to Labor and 34 to the Coalition.

The Greens have got one, possibly two seats.

In terms of vote share, with half of the votes counted Labor are on 38.5%, with the Liberals on 36%. The Nationals have 6.1% and the Greens are on 11.1%.

Molly Meldrum calls it for Labor

Updated

Jubilant scenes at the Greens election party, where Ellen Sandell has claimed the seat of Melbourne. Richmond could go the Greens way too, but Labor not giving it up yet.

Sandell says the Greens success is because voters want a “fairer society and a cleaner economy.”

Sean Kelly, former senior ALP advisor, has some insight on federal Labor glee at how the night is unfolding:

Federal Labor are very excited about this result.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was out on the hustings all day, visiting nine electorates, and got a great reception.

Federal Labor sources say they picked up no white-hot anger at Denis Napthine, but a whole heap of anti-Abbott sentiment.

That seems to reflect what the Liberals were hearing, of course, with Tony Abbott staying well away from Victoria close to polling day.

This will be a huge boon for Shorten and his opposition ranks. They’ll be thinking if this is the type of impact Abbott has in a state election, just wait until voters get their chance at a federal level.

Both the Age and the Herald Sun backed the Coalition in this election, the latter more vocally than the former.

The bloody outcome of a Labor win.

Smiles all round for Labor. This is looking like being the party’s most comfortable election victory at state or federal level since, when? 2007?

“The way we’re going, we’ll get a result tonight,” a Labor party insider tells Melissa Davey at the Mulgrave Country Club, where Andrews is expected to arrive at around 8.30pm.

It looks like Labor is set for victory at this stage, and the mood here is growing increasingly excited after a slow start.

“I still think Rippon is too close to call,” the insider said.

However, Labor is now confident it will snatch Morwell - “I like our chances there,” he said.

But it’s not been all good news for the party. They’re disappointed with the result in Richmond, he said, which it looks like will end up with the Greens.

“You could sense the vibe in the air in Melbourne, but Richmond... that’s been very disappointing.”

Updated

Federal government minister Kevin Andrews (one of the few Victorians in cabinet) is busy playing down any federal influence upon what’s increasingly looking like a Victorian state election loss for the Coalition.

“Polls in Victoria have hardly changed for the past three years,” Andrews says. “On basis of fact, any federal factor is very little on this election.

“If there is a substantial swing, any federal factor would be minute.”

Federal Greens leader Christine Milne appears fairly confident of capturing the seat of Melbourne at both state and national level.

Interesting take by former Rudd/Gillard advisor Sean Kelly:

If the Greens manage to win the state seat of Melbourne, which looks likely if not certain at this point, that will be a big blow to Labor’s hopes of winning back the federal seat of Melbourne at the next election.

It’s an interesting shift - while the Greens have not succeeded in raising their vote across the country, they do seem to be developing the ability to target particular seats effectively.

Updated

Anthony Green, the ABC’s election guru, hasn’t quite called it but predicts Labor will win. With just over a quarter of the vote counted, Labor has 45 seats in the bag, with a couple more to come.

Steve Bracks says Daniel Andrews will be the next premier of Victoria.

A reminder - 45 seats are needed to form government.

It looks like the Greens will take the seat of Melbourne. They may also pick up Richmond from Labor. But results elsewhere means that it looks unlikely that the Greens will be in a balance-of-power position in the lower house.

Labor on the brink

Sky News pundits Richard Marles and Bruce Hawker (both Labor figures, admittedly) are calling the election for Daniel Andrews.

It looks like crucial seats including Bentleigh, Mordialloc, Wendouree and Yan Yean will be going to Labor.

Sean Kelly:

The moods of the parties seem to be solidifying.

Antony Green has now said that Labor is on the cusp of victory.

Victorian Liberal MP Mary Wooldridge sounds like she’s delivering a eulogy for the Baillieu/Napthine government.

Retiring Labor MP Justin Madden is saying he’s nervous, but not looking very nervous at all.

Judging by the reactions of those most closely involved, it seems more and more likely that we’re going to see a Labor victory tonight - and probably very soon.

Bring out the muffled drums - Geoff Shaw has gone

Geoff Shaw, the maverick former Liberal-turned independent, has admitted he will not be holding onto his Frankston seat in a rather tetchy interview with the ABC.

Shaw has clashed with taxi drivers and used his balance-of-power position in the last parliament to push for a change to Victoria’s abortion laws.

Shaw, who is anti-abortion, said in May that he wanted to protect women’s “tummy eggs.”

Some word from inside the Labor and Green camps, respectively:

A Labor party insider at the party’s election night HQ in Mulgrave tells Melissa Davey the marginal seat of Carrum looks out of their reach. But they’re polling “very well” at Mordialloc, he says, in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs.

The four seats along the Frankston railway line known as the “sand belt” seats, are looking tight overall, he said.

“Fantastic for us is the result in Yan Yean,” he said. That’s a marginal Liberal seat this year following a redistribution of electoral boundaries.

“It looks like Danielle Green has been re-elected, which sends a strong message that Labor is going well in the region. Morwell may also be a dark horse for us.”

An open-mine fire on Thursday may have influenced voters towards Labor in the previously safe Nationals seat, he said.

Meanwhile, former Rudd/Gillard advisor Sean Kelly tells us:

I’m hearing word out of the Greens post-ballot celebrations in inner Melbourne. Apparently they’re cautiously optimistic, having got a good reaction from voters today.

The Greens will be hoping to win the seat of Melbourne, in which case they would hold it at both state and federal level - but I suspect they’ll have a long night of counting ahead of them.

Also, in stark contrast to the awful pictures of food coming out of Daniel Andrews’ shindigs, the tapas is allegedly excellent.

Here’s the tally so far.

Labor deputy leader James Merlino, who looks like he’ll hang on in Monbulk, has said jobs, education and ambulances are far more important to voters than the East West link farrago - which has soaked up much of the media’s attention.

ABC’s election guru Anthony Green says that Labor is ahead in eight of the Coalition’s most marginal seats. And talk of a huge swing towards Labor in the regional seat of Eildon, the area that covers a much campaigned-for new national park that has been backed by Sir David Attenborough.

The numbers are totting up and it’s looking good for Labor.

Sean Kelly, a former advisor to Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, is providing us with some analysis tonight.

Kelly:

Liberal MP Mary Wooldridge is giving a strong sign of what the Victorian Liberals will be saying if they lose - federal issues were “very significant”.

Win or lose, this will be a huge area of debate over the next few days.

Michael O’Brien, the Victorian treasurer, is upbeat, saying he sees the election as a 50-50 race.

One of his Coalition colleagues is a little more expansive on the Abbott Factor, or AF as I’ve decided to call it, as Gay Alcorn reports:

The well regarded Victorian minister Mary Wooldridge has told ABC TV that “federal issues have been very important” in the election.

This will be a continuing debate through the night, no doubt.

Wooldridge said 80% of Labor negative ads featured Tony Abbott and Denis Napthine, and the ALP wouldn’t have done that if it hadn’t had some impact.

She pointed out that the state budget was well received, but it was overshadowed by the federal budget in May. Fuel excise and even ABC cuts were not popular.

She also mentioned Frankston Liberal turned independent Geoff Shaw, who “really had to turn up and it became a story.” It was hard for the premier to cut through the noise.


Balloons. There are Liberal balloons. That’s a sign of optimism, right?

In case you missed it (I refuse to use the acronym for this, sorry but we aren’t in that much of a rush here) Daniel Andrews has promised to breath test MPs and judges if he becomes premier. The Victorian parliament isn’t a pub, Andrews has helpfully pointed out.

The Labor leader also wants to cancel a $200,000 election victory party. Going by early indications at the Labor election function, he may well keep one of those stone-cast promises.

Updated

The key seats to watch

While Labor is ahead on overall polling, it will all come down to what happens in a handful of marginal seats which have had copious wads of cash thrown at them by Liberal and Labor.

Essentially, Labor is looking to secure four ‘sandbelt’ electorates that stretch along the bay to Frankston. The Coalition wants to counteract this with gains in regional Victoria, such as the three seats that cover Ballarat.

Anyway, here are the 10 seats to watch out for as the results come in, courtesy of Gay Alcorn:

WENDOUREE (Liberal 0.1%)

Formerly Ballarat West, this seat was changed substantially in the redistribution, becoming notionally Liberal even though it is held by Labor’s Sharon Knight, who won in 2010.

It is entirely contained within the regional city of Ballarat. Knight is trying to hold the seat against the Liberal’s Craig Coltman, a small businessman who has represented Australia in fly fishing.

CARRUM: (Liberal, 0.3%)

A bayside electorate south-east of Melbourne, it is one of four critical sand belt seats that swung against Labor in 2010 due to frustration with transport and cost of living pressures. With new boundaries, it’s now even more marginal. Will be tough for public relations consultant and former councillor Donna Bauer to hold against Labor challenger and lawyer, Sonya Kilkenny.

BENTLEIGH (Liberal 0.9%)

A suburban bellwether seat, it was the last to fall to the coalition at the 2010 election with a 7.1% swing against Labor. MP Elizabeth Miller, a former nurse, is being challenged by Labor’s Nick Staikos, a former councillor and staffer for Simon Crean and Victorian shadow attorney general Martin Pakula.

RIPON: (Liberal 1.6%)

Labor member Joe Helper holds this seat, but he is retiring at this election, and the redistribution has made this rural seat notionally Liberal. Among its major towns are Ararat, Clunes, Maryborough and Stawell, and it has the highest proportion of low-income people in Victoria.

The director of the food and environment unit at the Institute of Public Affairs, Louise Staley, is standing against Labor’s Daniel McGlone, a lawyer, and Nationals candidate and former Richmond footballer, Scott Turner.

PRAHRAN (Liberal 4.7%)

The Liberals’ Clem Newton-Brown won this inner-city seat from Labor in 2010. The Greens believe that, after Melbourne, this is their best chance for a lower house win, although it will be tough.

This seat has the highest percentage of people using public transport in the state, and LGBTI issues are prominent.

Labor’s Neil Pharoah has been the convenor of national Rainbow Labor and Newtown-Brown lobbied for recent legislation expunging old convictions for homosexuality. The Greens’ Sam Hibbins is a former Stonnington councillor who has worked in the community and government sectors.

FRANKSTON: (Independent, notionally Liberal 0.4%)

Labor is confident of wresting this bayside bellwether electorate back after losing to the then Liberal Geoff Shaw. Shaw has had a tumultuous term, becoming an independent in 2013 and is standing again this time.

Labor’s candidate is firefighter Paul Edbrooke and the Liberals’ candidate is Sean Armistead, the manager of the Indigenous employment program for Crown Melbourne.

MELBOURNE (Labor 4.7%)

Labor again faces a Green challenge in the inner-city, where Adam Bandt holds the federal seat. Centred around the CBD, Carlton and the Docklands, this is the youngest electorate in the state, mainly due the number of university students.

The Greens have polled second in every election since 2002 and would have won here last time if the Liberals hadn’t preferenced Labor ahead of them. Labor’s Jennifer Kanis is being challenged by the Greens’ Ellen Sandell, a former policy officer in the Victorian office of climate change, and the Liberal’s Ed Huntingford, a corporate adviser.

MORWELL (Nationals 13.9%)

The Nationals’ Russell Northe, a former local football star, is confident of holding this rrral Gippsland seat and has a comfortable margin to defend.

But it’s worth watching because of the renewed focus on the coal and electricity generation industries after the Hazelwood open-cut mine fire in February. Independent Tracie Lund is trying to replicate Cathy McGowan’s success at Indi in the federal election and at least make the seat marginal. Labor pre-selected 23-year old Traralgon resident Jadon Mintern, who has worked as a Labor staffer.

ELTHAM (ALP 0.8%)

Labor’s most marginal seat is in the city’s north-eastern suburbs. Steve Herbert has held it since 2002 but is attempting to move to the upper house this time, so Labor loses its incumbent advantage.

Vicki Ward, now a staffer for federal frontbencher Jenny Mackli, is being challenged by local businessman Steven Briffa for the Liberals.

GEELONG (ALP 4%)

Victoria’s second largest city is going through wrenching economic change, with the looming demise of the car industry. Although Labor’s marginal is relatively comfortable, its popular member Ian Trezise is retiring at this election.

Labor’s candidate is Christine Couzens, a long-time staffer for Trezise. She’s being challenged by high-profile local radio announcer Paula Kontelj, who is also a group fitness instructor and marriage celebrant.

Updated

Denis Napthine is approaching the Liberal party’s party, which is being held in central Melbourne, to see the results come in.

The magic number to form government is 45 seats.

Given the knife-edge nature of the last parliament, featuring the bonkers exploits of taxi driver-botherer Geoff Shaw, Labor and the Coalition are essentially tied, with Labor requiring just a 0.9% swing to win power.

But, for now, we’re officially at 0-0-0-0 etc.

VEC table
Victorian Electoral Commission results board at 6.20pm Photograph: VEC

46% - the proportion of Victorian voters who cited the federal budget as an important factor in their vote, according to the Sky exit poll.

I’d say that’s a rather high figure for a federal budget in a state election. It further reinforces Liberal fears that the unpopularity of Tony Abbott in Victoria has, potentially, contributed to the electoral demise of Denis Napthine.

There were whispers that Abbott would make a last-ditch campaign appearance in Victoria yesterday. Instead, he stayed in Sydney and Julie Bishop was dispatched to lend Napthine a hand kissing babies and talking to shopkeepers.

Napthine has, at times, seemed exasperated at the Abbott factor. Cuts to the ABC and an increase in fuel tax have certainly been extremely unhelpful in their timing for the Victorian premier.

No problems for Bill Shorten appearing in Victoria, his home state. The Labor leader, known for his zingers, voted earlier today and said Abbott was in “witness protection.”

Exit poll - Labor ahead, just

Gay Alcorn reports:

Newspoll’s exit poll has found a last minute tightening of the race, Sky news reported. Labor was just ahead, 51% to 49% on a two party preferred basis.

Most interesting were the issues rated as “very important” to people’s vote.

The top two were the usual state issues of health and education. The economy came next, with 70% of people saying that was important to how they voted.

Unemployment, which is 6.8% in Victoria, was rated very important by 67% of respondents. Public transport mattered to 59%.

But the federal budget -not normally an issue in state election - was considered important by 46% of those polled. That was ahead of the East West Link, rated by just 34%.

Just spoken to the Victorian Electoral Commission which said that 882,716 votes were cast early in this election - far higher than the 543,763 early votes in 2010. Voters clearly wanted to get the whole business over with as soon as possible.

On top of this number there are 257,967 postal votes so far, which will be counted before the early votes at a rate of 2,000 votes per district.

A VEC spokeswoman says voting went smoothly across the state today, although Labor’s Prahran candidate Neil Pharoah has said he has made an official complaint over a Liberal volunteer allegedly calling one of his volunteers a “fat bitch.”

Federal Labor MP Anna Burke is also unhappy with some Liberal volunteers.

That’s not a representative list of gripes however - the Liberals say “union thugs” harassed former prime minister John Howard on the campaign trail yesterday. Howard was forced to flee into a nearby shopping centre, according to the party.

Updated

Just 10 minutes before the Victorian Electoral Commission starts firing up the results machine.

While you wait, take a look at Gay Alcorn’s five things we’ve learned from what has been a rather small-target, tightly scripted election campaign.

Also check out some stats that Twitter have done for us on how tweeters (if that is the collective term for Twitter folk) have embraced the election.

Twitter stats
Victorian election issues as played out on Twitter Photograph: Twitter

There is a fair bit of Labor grumpiness at the Greens, beyond the possibility of losing some inner city seats (and maybe even balance of power) to the minor party.

As Gay Alcorn explains, a Greens preferencing decision could cost Labor dearly:

Labor was angered on Saturday by the Greens’ decision to issue open how to vote cards in key electorates, which may benefit the Coaltion.

The Greens issued open tickets– which means it doesn’t indicate to voters where they should direct preferences – in the seats of Monbulk, Bentleigh, Mordialloc, Monbulk, Narre Warren North, Yan Yean, Carrum, Ringwood and Benambra.

But in most seats – including the marginal electorates of Frankston and Prahran – the Greens gave preferences to Labor.

Earlier in the campaign, Labor rejected an offer from the Greens to swap preferences.

The Greens are looking to win the seat of Melbourne, with Richmond and Brunswick also potentially in play for the party.

The following is posted without comment.

Promises, promises. Melissa Davey saw Daniel Andrews cast his vote in the eastern suburbs seat of Mulgrave this morning, and filed the following:

Michael Nugent from Crikey had eight of the Labor party’s key election promises literally etched in stone outside of Albany Rise primary school in Mulgrave, where Labor leader Daniel Andrews cast his vote this morning.

“We’re starting a conversation with the people of Victoria about accountability,” Nugent said.

“What better way than to have the party promises here carved in stone?”

Andrews wandered over and took a look.

“There they are, each and every one,” he said, sounding just a little surprised.

“We’re very pleased to be putting forward a positive agenda for Victorians.”

To which Nugent replied; “Are they all in stone, Daniel?”

“Indeed they are, each and every one,” Andrews assured him.

Promises set in stone
Victorian election promises etched in stone in Mulgrave Photograph: Melissa Davey/Melissa Davey

The term unAustralian gets bandied around rather meaninglessly. And then something like this happens.

I spoke too soon on polling - a new Nine poll predicts Labor victory but at the narrower margin of 51-49.

The polling suggests Denis Napthine is on his way out as premier of Victoria. Still a dab hand at sausage turning in his south west coast electorate, however.

Updated

Results will start rolling in from the Victorian Electoral Commission from 6pm. Labor is expected to win a narrowish victory – ahead 52-48 in two-party terms of the governing Coalition in the final pre-election polls released this morning.

Until we find out if Daniel Andrews is Victoria’s next premier, there is the frankly crucial question of sausage quality at voting booths. As this election sausage sizzle tracker shows, there were quite a few barbecue moments across the state, thankfully bathed in sunshine.

My voting experience involved seeing a man on stilts with maracas and children sitting atop miniature horses. How about you? Queues long? Decent snags? Did a politician try to kiss your baby?

Updated

Welcome to Guardian Australia’s live blog of the Victorian state election. Oliver Milman here alongside Gay Alcorn to helm you through the night as the results come in. Our two intrepid reporters Michael Safi and Melissa Davey are traversing Melbourne on a balmy spring evening to gauge whether it will be Labor’s Daniel Andrews or premier Denis Napthine who will be celebrating electoral victory.

Make sure you get involved too, either in the comments below or via Guardian Witness, where you can add your stories videos and even (argh) selfies from the day.

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