The Greens are absolute scum.
Their defeat is great news.
Julian Sheezel is to blame for all this Labor triumphalism. The Leader wanted to take on Brumby and would have given Labor a real scare.
Good one Jules, your career is in tatters. We throw down the gauntlet. You'll be clearing your desk at 104 and you're dreaming if you think Helen Kroger will give up her Senate position for you anytime soon. Your only hope is a by-election in Higgins when Cossie faces the inevitable and quits.
Janet Rice campaigned very strongly in Williamstown but the electorate simply did not warm to her. She letterboxed and door-knocked extensively, had stalls in all the shopping centres, had lots of good media coverage and had the benefit of her council profile but it didn't help at all.
Her hard work did not translate into votes and the results speak for themselves.
Janet Rice has claimed that Willi is now a greens/labor contest because she polled more than the libs. Someone should remind her that the libs didn't run. They were in fact as absent as XXXXXXXXX
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5% Primary vote swing to the ALP is impressive
By-election's traditionally show a 406% swing to the opposition not the government
So much for the so called Thwaite's personal factor. I have always said there is none. He was not highly regarded in his electorate and had it not been for the fact that he was a senior minister he would have lost pre-selection long ago. His support within the party was never high.
A 5% Primary vote swing to the ALP is impressive
By-election's traditionally show a 4-6% swing to the opposition not the government
So much for the so called Thwaite's personal factor. I have always said there is none. He was not highly regarded in his electorate and had it not been for the fact that he was a senior minister he would have lost pre-selection long ago. His support within the party was never high.
Play fair people. The comment about XXXXXXXX is inappropriate.
Janet Rice is a good person. She stood by her husband for the sake of her family. That doesn't make her a good or bad politician.
The simple truth is she's had her day. The results in Williamstown show that despite her best efforts she was unable to gain the support from the community. They didn't warm to her and probably saw her as just another politician.
The Greens vote in Williamstown would have been even further reduced if the ALP fought it as a marginal seat. The fact they saw it as a safe Labor seat at least helped her get a paltry 22% of the primary vote (even though the Greens were expecting at least 26-28%).
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Fair call 1.29, I withdraw the XXXXXXXX comment.
Janet is ok for a green, but she is still a ruthless politician as you point out. She is also deluded - which I suppose is a prerequisite for greens membership.
The greens think that footscray and williamstown will go the way of melbourne, richmond etc. But they will not. The greens candidate for footscray finished fourth (behind inbred hick catherine cumming)!!
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ALP TPP 2007 57.20%
ALP TPP 2006 59.69%
Despite all the skiting about primary votes, the ALP has gone backwards. But the result shows it was always unwinnable for the Libs. How can Cheezel be to blame when the Krogerites were split on whether to run a candidate or not?
A brilliant analysis of the bye-election, Andrew. All patriots join you in celebrating the result. We can only hope the confusion and dismay in Green ranks leads to recriminations and bloodletting in the weeks to come. Keep up the great work, Byron
The ALP may have done well in Albert Park where they let the dogs out on the sorry Greens ass but the result in Williamstown shows that there is growing frustration about Labor and the Brumbler.
Ted will take him in 2010 and I'll be there to see it.
The ALP vote in Williamstown wasn't down because of the Greens. It was down because Bracks was a very popular local member and Wade Noonan isn't known in the area.
The poll result was a disaster for the Greens.
Yes, taking the demographics of Williamstown into account, and removing the Bracks factor, 15% margin feels about right.
So much to the theory of John Thwaites having a local following. lol lol He never did have a local following and had it not been for the fact that she was a senior minister he would have lost preselection long ago.
Well done to Newnham, this result completely vindicates him.
Wonder whether Jennings and leftist hacks who turned up at the Port Melbourne bowls club on Saturday night have had the balls to admit they were wrong. They turned up in force- and in farce.
Interestingly, the right helped campaign for them in Albert Park. What about leftists in Williamstown other than local rank and file/unaligned? Proof if ever it was needed that the right believe in things and follow that up with action, while the left believe only in more staffer positions....
Anon | 09.16.07 You can not compare a TPP vote between three different parties. Nice try... Look at the primary vote... ALP vote is up you would have expected it to go down as by-elections traditionally go against the incumbent not in its favour...
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