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19 FEBRUARY, 2025
New MP gets to work By Cade Lucas From fighting a grass fire at 3am to being elected to state parliament by just after 1pm, Friday was a big day for new Labor MP for Werribee, John Lister. The local school teacher and CFA member claimed victory after vote counting on Friday morning showed him building a narrow but unassailable lead over Liberal Party challenger Steve Murphy. When Star Weekly went to press, Mr Lister had received 50.71 per cent of the vote on a two-candidate-preferred basis compared to Liberal pick Steve Murphy with 49.29 per cent. Despite receiving less first primary votes than Mr Murphy, preference flows continued to favour Mr Lister, pushing his lead out to almost 600 votes after preferences. The result saw Labor’s primary vote in Werribee slump 16.5 per cent. It meant the government was able to retain the outer western suburbs seat vacated by retired treasurer Tim Pallas, despite suffering a swing of more than 10 per cent against it. Just hours after helping put out a grass fire near Wyndham Vale, Mr Lister was joined at a park in central Werribee by Major Projects Minister Gabrielle Williams to declare victory. “Our focus now has to be on demonstrating that we’ve heard the message, on being out there and delivering and winning back that trust,” she said. Labor knocked on about 20,000 doors during its campaign to save the seat. “These are my neighbours, my friends, people I’ve worked with. This is my community,” said Mr Lister of his new constituents in Werribee, many of whom turned away from the Labor Party at the by-election. “We’ve heard the message from voters. We need more,” he said of how he intended to win them back, nominating cost of living, transport and crime as his immediate priorities. Despite being elected as a member of parliament, Mr Lister said his initial approach to the job would be a continuation of his campaign “I’m gonna do exactly what I’ve been doing for the last six or seven weeks which is getting out every day,” said Mr Lister. “It starts from tomorrow. I’ll be at some of the mosques for mosque open day, I’ll be meeting with constituents who’ve emailed me. On Monday I’ll be running a constituency cafe.” Ms Williams said her new colleague had already started advocating for his constituents
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Werribee’s new MP John Lister. (Ljubica Vrankovic) 459703_01
before the result was even declared. “The count hasn’t stopped him from advocating for his community and there are a number of ministers who can attest to that.” The by-election was the first electoral test for Premier Jacinta Allan and Liberal leader Brad Battin since each respectively took over from Daniel Andrews and John Pesutto. Ms Allan did not turn up to Werribee to
congratulate Mr Lister in person on Friday but he said they had been in touch by phone. The Victorian Liberal leader took aim at the premier’s no-show, claiming she was a “problem” for the Labor brand. Mr Battin maintained the by-election result sent a strong message to Labor that it could not keep neglecting Melbourne’s west. “I’ll assure all those out in Werribee, all
those out in the west, that we will continue to fight and work with them,” he said. While Werribee is now his focus, Mr Lister said he’d remain a CFA member too. “We still need to get trucks out the door.” An official result is expected to be announced by the state electoral commission after preference distributions are finalised. with AAP
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