Victorian Leaders Agree to November 17 People's Forum
Premier Ben Carroll and Opposition Leader Jess Wilson will join a multi-party debate as polls suggest the Coalition could return to government.
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll and Opposition Leader Jess Wilson are locked in a high-stakes campaign with polls indicating the Coalition is on track to return to government for the first time since 2014. The two leaders have agreed to participate in a people's forum on November 17, joined by the Greens' Ellen Sandell and One Nation's Warren Pickering, following initial resistance from Wilson.
The Coalition recently faced a policy setback after backtracking on a promise to pause construction on the Suburban Rail Loop, clarifying that the pause applies only to new contracts. Simultaneously, the Victorian Liberal Party challenged the economic credibility of One Nation by commissioning a Parliamentary Budget Office report. The report found that One Nation's baby bonus and sports voucher schemes would cost $688.7 million, far exceeding the party's own $136 million estimate.
In response to the shifting political landscape, Carroll is attempting to pivot Labor's image by emphasizing a fiscally conservative, pro-business approach and proposing bans on abusive patients from hospitals. Meanwhile, the Greens are leveraging a surge in support to justify their presence on the debate stage.
