Premier Daniel Andrews has scored a narrow victory over Matthew Guy in the Sky News/Herald Sun People's Forum.
The one-hour long forum saw the two leaders go head-to-head taking questions from 100 undecided Victorians just four days out from the election.
Of all the voters in the room, 38 were convinced by Mr Andrews’ performance compared with Mr Guy’s 34.
The remaining 28 voters were undecided ahead of the November 26 poll.
Major concerns for the voters centred on the state’s record high debt levels, the health system and integrity.
Mr Guy – who was defeated by the Premier in 2018 – laid out his vision for Victoria, arguing the state deserves someone that can unite people.
"Our state deserves a premier who can unite us, not divide us. At this juncture in our state's history, it's never been more important for Victorians to be confident and united," he told the audience.
"We do have significant problems as I've said before, and I want to fix our healthcare system.
"And I've got to make the tough decision to take that money out of one project and put it all into health."
Premier Andrews pushed his "positive plan" for the state as he seeks his third term in power, largely focusing on the areas of energy and health.
"I'm asking for your support on Saturday because I want to bring back the SEC – government-owned renewable energy to create jobs and skills to put downward pressure on prices and to not repeat the errors of the past," he said.
"We also want to continue our strong partnership with our nurses and midwives, our ambos, to recruit more of them, to value them, to respect them, not to go to war with them.
"Thank you for being here, this is my positive plan, and now it's your choice."
Victoria’s debt is projected to skyrocket to more than $160 billion by 2024-25 – more than New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania’s combined.
Mr Guy took aim at the government, urging for measured and responsible spending going forward.
“Over the forward estimate period debt will be lower under a government I lead than under a Labor government,” Mr Guy said.
“We’ve got more debt in this state of New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania combined. There comes a time where you say we have to be responsible.
“You can’t just have a credit card where you put everything on and leave it for our great grandchildren to pay off.”
In defending his record, Mr Andrews pointed to the coronavirus pandemic’s significant impact on the state’s finances.
“You can do the popular thing, or you can do the right thing,” he replied.
“I’m so grateful to Victorians for coming with us and getting through really tough times.”
The Opposition has vowed to shelve the major Suburban Rail Loop project - the most expensive in the state’s history - and pump the $34.5 billion in savings into Victoria’s crippled health system.
The Premier however targeted Mr Guy over the Opposition’s politicisation of the healthcare sector.
“Surely we could agree and value our nurses and our ambos and just congratulate them for the amazing work they’ve done,” Mr Andrews said.
In response the Opposition leader said the Mr Andrews’s government smashed the health system.
“Daniel, your government has broken the health system,” Mr Guy said.
“You’ve had eight years, ideas, and I intend to fix the damage you’ve done.”
A Resolve Strategic poll published by The Age on Tuesday has revealed support for the Andrews government has plummeted as voters prepare to go to the polls on Saturday, with Labor’s primary vote falling to 36 per cent.
This puts Labor neck-and-neck with the Coalition, whose primary vote rose 5 percentage points from 31 per cent in October’s Resolve poll.
The Sky News/Herald Sun People's Forum was the only debate before the election and it allowed voters to ask questions to help them determine who they will vote for on Saturday.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMi1gFodHRwczovL3d3dy5za3luZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9hdXN0cmFsaWEtbmV3cy9wb2xpdGljcy92aWN0b3JpYW4tZWxlY3Rpb24tcHJlbWllci1kYW5pZWwtYW5kcmV3cy1kZWVtZWQtd2lubmVyLW9mLXRoZS1za3ktbmV3c2hlcmFsZC1zdW4tcGVvcGxlcy1mb3J1bS1ieS0xMDAtdW5kZWNpZGVkLXZvdGVycy9uZXdzLXN0b3J5LzJkNDNlNjY5MjIzMDEwOTEwMzdiYWEwY2FlOTMwYTM20gEA?oc=5
2022-11-22 09:56:15Z
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