On Monday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would not “get carried away” after his Labor party won a by-election for the first time in 100 years despite voters’ increasing living costs.
Labor’s Mary Doyle won the weekend by-election for the lower house federal seat of Aston in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs with a swing of over 6%, defeating the conservative Liberal-National opposition combination in one of its traditional strongholds in Victoria state.
Albanese said voters knew the rise in living costs was due to global supply chain issues related to Russia’s war in Ukraine and appreciated the government’s commitment to improving people’s lives.
Albanese called the election “historic,” but his administration will stay anchored.
“This was a major triumph,” Albanese told ABC Radio.
The opposition last lost a by-election to the government in 1920 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia’s goldfield constituency.
Former Liberal minister Alan Tudge, who won the 2022 general election by 2.8%, resigned, prompting the Aston by-election.
Since becoming prime minister a year ago, Albanese has had strong approval ratings. In a Monday Australian newspaper Newspoll, he surpassed opposition leader Peter Dutton’s 26% support.
Labor’s two-party preferred advantage increased to 55% from 45% in the 1,500-voter survey.
Labor won the by-election a week after taking power in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state. The party currently rules mainland states and the federal government, leaving Tasmania as the conservative outlier.
Comment Template