Victorian By-Election will Feature Competition Between Labor and Liberals

Tens of thousands of Victorians will head to the polls to pick the local successor to former premier Daniel Andrews, with Labor in the box seat.

Mr. Andrews stepped down as Victorian premier and the member for Mulgrave in late September, triggering a by-election for the southeast Melbourne seat on Nov. 18.

Dandenong mayor Eden Foster will contest the by-election for Labor, while opposition staffer and former Mulgrave candidate Courtney Mann is the Liberals pick.

Labor holds the seat on a healthy 10.2 percent two-party-preferred margin but it could be reduced by the loss of Mr. Andrews after more than 20 years as the local member.

Premier Jacinta Allan said Ms. Foster was a fabulous candidate, having grown up within Mulgrave’s suburbs of Noble Park and Springvale.

Opposition Leader John Pesutto acknowledged Mulgrave was a safe Labor seat but said it was important for the Liberals to offer residents a choice.

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Mr. Pesutto could face internal leadership pressure if the Liberals fail to finish second on primary votes but insisted he was not fazed by the prospect.

Ian Cook, of shutdown Melbourne caterer I Cook Foods, is recontesting the seat as an independent after collecting the second most first-preference votes last year.

On Nov. 13, the Supreme Court ruled former chief health officer Brett Sutton’s order to shut down the business over the listeria-linked death of an 86-year-old woman was invalid because the health department did not observe procedural fairness.

But the judge dismissed the company’s bid for damages.

Victorian Electoral Commissioner Sven Bluemmel is warning of long queues on election day following a low uptake of early and postal voting.

Nov. 18 will mark the second Victorian state by-election this year after the Liberals retained the seat of Warrandyte in Melbourne’s northeast following the retirement of veteran MP Ryan Smith.

Labor did not contest the poll.