Victoria’s Coalition will generally preference One Nation ahead of Labor, the Greens and Victorian Socialists at the November 28 state election, Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has confirmed.
Wilson said the party would assess individual candidates before finalising preference recommendations, leaving room for exceptions to the Coalition’s broader approach.
“We have made the decision to put Labor, the Greens and the Socialists at the bottom of the ballot paper,” Wilson said.
She said the party was scrutinising more than 700 candidates, with decisions to reflect who was standing in each electorate.
The announcement establishes the Coalition’s general position as parties prepare their how-to-vote cards. The Australia Today understands that the Coalition would complete final preference decisions over the coming days.
One Nation welcomed the decision, while Labor accused Wilson of retreating from earlier assurances about deals with Pauline Hanson’s party. Premier Ben Carroll portrayed the announcement as a reversal of her previous position.
The confirmation came on the same day One Nation dumped its candidate for Preston, Franco Guardiani, over a social media post appearing to praise Adolf Hitler.
One Nation’s Victorian leader, Warren Pickering, condemned the comments and said people holding such views had no place in the party. One Nation also acknowledged that its candidate vetting needed improvement.
The developments place immediate attention on how the Coalition will apply its candidate assessments when settling its recommendations.
A preference recommendation can matter in a close contest, but voters retain control over where their vote goes.
The Victorian Electoral Commission says how-to-vote cards are suggestions only. For the Legislative Assembly, voters must number every candidate in their preferred order, starting with one. They can choose a different order from the card handed to them by a party or candidate.
If no candidate receives more than half the formal votes, the lowest-polling candidate is excluded and their ballot papers are distributed to the next available preference. That process continues until a candidate secures a majority.
Under that system, the Coalition’s recommendation could help One Nation in an electorate where the Liberal or Nationals candidate is excluded while One Nation remains in the count against Labor. Its effect would depend on the candidates’ finishing order and how voters number their ballots.
The final cards will show how the Coalition’s general position translates into recommendations in individual seats. Registration closes at noon on November 20, with the electoral commission publishing registered cards during the campaign.
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