Liberals claim Labor operatives used ‘menacing tactics’ at Dunkley polling booths - Sky News Australia

Shadow finance minister Jane Hume has recounted her experience of the “menacing tactics” used by Labor and union officials during Nathan Conroy’s campaigning in Dunkley on Saturday.

Speaking to Sky News host Andrew Clennell on Sunday, Ms Hume said there had been a lot of people “frothing at the mouth” over the Advance Australia campaigning, but throughout the pre-polling it was “Labor operatives” who had demonstrated threatening behaviour.

“To be honest, what I saw at the booths, not just yesterday, but throughout the pre-poll, was some pretty serious menacing tactics by unions and by some Labor operatives,” Ms Hume said.

“I had at one stage, I had two guys standing on either side of me, just, you know, talking in my ear. They were standing behind Nathan Conroy, they were standing behind his wife whispering things.

“It was actually really menacing.”

Ms Hume said plainclothed policemen introduced themselves to the supposed Labor supporters who were looming behind the former mayor of Frankston.

She declined to name the union she believed was responsible.

“I'm not entirely sure which union it was, but, I think that they know who they are, and, and I'm pretty sure the police know who they are too,” Ms Hume said.

Despite the loss for the Liberal Party, Ms Hume said the opposition had its "tails up" on Sunday morning following a 3.7 per cent swing in favour of the Opposition.

Ms Hume said Dunkley was not a marginal seat in "anyone's language", with Labor enjoying a 6.3 per cent advantage before the byelection.

"This morning it definitely is a marginal seat. In fact, it's one of the most marginal seats in Victoria," she said.

"It was a really good campaign. We had a fantastic candidate. We left nothing on the field. We had all of our volunteers out there and it was a really good feeling in the room last night.

"So I think the liberals should be proud and they should be really optimistic about our chances at the next election."

Ms Hume said the Labor government had troubles "of its own making" which were brought into the light during the byelection, reflected by the Liberal Party's increase in the primary vote.

"It was the best primary vote that we'd seen in about a decade in Dunkley. It was the best TPP, two party preferred vote that we'd seen since about 2016," she said.

"There's work to be done. But at this stage in the electoral cycle, I think that we can take this as a very positive sign."

Clennell then prodded Ms Hume on Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's absence while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese travelled down to support Jodie Belyea on Saturday morning before returning to Sydney in the evening.

Ms Hume said it was not about Mr Dutton, who had visited the southeast Melbourne electorate at least five times, but rather, it was about the people of Dunkley and Liberal candidate Nathan Conroy.

"If I were Labor, I'd be looking towards some of those seats that have really tight margins already and being a little bit more worried about what's going on in their own backyard rather than what's going on in the Liberals," Ms Hume said, responding to whether Labor will use Mr Dutton's absence as political leverage.

Education Minister Jason Clare spoke to Sky News on Sunday morning and hesitated to draw "too many" conclusions from the by-election after a decrease in Greens votes contributing to the overall increase in the Liberals' primary vote.

Meanwhile, One Nation and United Australia were not "in the field", which also helped to bolster the Liberals.

"But you know, the big issue for all of these, whether they're in Dunkley or right around the country, is the cost of living," Mr Clare said.

"That's what's on everybody's mind, whether they're paying bills at the supermarket or paying down their mortgage. The tax cuts will help with that inflation going down.

"Wages going up will help with that. But we're very conscious that that's the big issue that Aussies face right now."

Mr Clare added the "important" tax cuts were favoured by Australians across the country while the Liberals, who "hated" them, "held their nose" and voted for them.

"The fact that the Liberal Party decided to back these tax cuts showed just how important they are. You know, they hated them, but they supported them," he said.

"They held their nose and voted for them in the parliament. I think that just goes to show just how important these tax cuts are."

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2024-03-03 00:15:25Z
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