The Aporia · Victorian Labor’s ‘unforgivable’ preferences decision risks Liberal-One Nation government, Greens warn

The Victorian Greens are criticizing Labor for not directing preferences to them in the key inner-city seat of Prahran, which could help a Liberal-One Nation coalition win the upcoming election. The Greens' leader Ellen Sandell claims this decision is "frankly unforgivable" and could lead to One Nation holding the balance of power. In the 2025 byelection for Prahran, the Greens received a significant swing but lost due to factors including low voter turnout and unfavorable preference flows from other candidates. Labor’s open ticket strategy in Prahran and neighboring Caulfield is seen as potentially aiding the Liberals and One Nation, despite Labor's message to voters to prioritize their own candidates.

Written by AI on 2026-11-10, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

Story summary

The Victorian Greens have criticized Labor for its decision not to preference their party in the key inner-city seat of Prahran, warning that this could result in a Liberal-One Nation coalition government. On Tuesday, Ellen Sandell, leader of the Greens, described Labor’s open ticket strategy as "frankly unforgivable," highlighting concerns over the upcoming election. In Prahran, currently held by the Liberals with a narrow 1.3% margin, Labor's how-to-vote material will encourage voters to place their candidate first but leave preference allocation up to voters, potentially aiding One Nation and the Liberals instead of the Greens. The Greens previously lost this seat in a 2025 byelection due to a combination of factors including low voter turnout and unfavorable preferences from other candidates like former Labor MP Tony Lupton who contested as an independent.

Written for “Victorian Labor's Preferences Decision” on 2026-11-10, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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The Victorian Greens say Labor’s “frankly unforgivable” decision not to preference the minor party in a key inner-city seat could hand the upcoming election to a Liberal-One Nation coalition.

left criticizes Labor for not supporting minor parties

Reading Leans strongly left (beta estimate) Confidence high

Leaning: leans strongly left for article 141853 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-11-10

Victorian Labor's Preferences Decision

Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

This article reads leans strongly left and hedges 14% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Liberals preference One Nation ahead of Labor Different event

The Sydney Morning Herald

Leans right further right than this Hedges 4 of 18 claims Outlet record 61/100

“The articles describe different aspects of electoral strategy decisions by opposing political parties, rather than the same specific incident.”

Victorian election 2026: Concern and scepticism among Labor MPs as new poll shows party trailing One Nation Different event

The Guardian

Leans left further right than this Hedges 0 of 26 claims Outlet record 65/100

“The articles describe different aspects of the Victorian election context, with Article A focusing on poll results and concerns among Labor MPs, while Article B focuses on a decision regarding preferences in a specific seat.”

Inside the ‘anyone but Labor’ movement working to flip crucial seats Different event

The Sydney Morning Herald

Leans right further right than this Hedges 1 of 28 claims Outlet record 61/100

“The articles discuss different political actions in distinct regions and contexts: one focuses on a 'anyone but Labor' campaign by shooting groups targeting several seats, while the other highlights Victorian Greens’ concern over Labor's preference decision in Prahran.”

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Benita Kolovos Victorian state correspondent

11 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

The Victorian Greens say Labor’s “frankly unforgivable” decision not to preference the minor party in a key inner-city seat could hand the upcoming election to a Liberal-One Nation coalition.

2026-11-10 · assertive framing · Victorian Labor’s ‘unforgivable’ preferences decision risks Liberal-One Nation government, Greens warn

George Hasanakos, DemosAU’s head of research, said if the poll were replicated on election night then many contests across the state would be between the Liberals or Nationals and One Nation, which would then result in a “clear Coalition majority”. “If that happens, One Nation has to poll really, really well to have a chance of winning, because Labor and Greens preferences will flow to the Liberals,” he said.

2026-11-09 · assertive framing · Victorian election 2026: Concern and scepticism among Labor MPs as new poll shows party trailing One Nation

One Nation’s federal leader, Pauline Hanson, and Victorian deputy leader, Colleen Harkin, were expected to visit the man in hospital on Tuesday morning.

2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Man and boy arrested after One Nation volunteer allegedly attacked with baseball bat in Victoria

No further action is expected to be taken.

2026-10-20 · assertive framing · ‘I forgot to pay’: Victoria’s premier Ben Carroll drives off without paying for petrol, sparking police inquiries

She said it would cost $136m over four years but admitted it was a “ballpark” figure that would depend on how many babies were born each year. “We don’t go hard on figures, because we actually don’t have access to the detail of this stuff,” Harkin told reporters.

2026-10-16 · assertive framing · One Nation proposes $2,000 baby subsidy in Victoria but says it won’t touch state abortion laws

Dave Hughes says he will no longer be taking the stage at Victorian Liberal events, claiming the party decided having him on the bill could run afoul of the state’s political donation laws.

2026-10-07 · assertive framing · Comedian Dave Hughes to stop speaking at Liberal party events over political donation concerns

The first briefing, which Allan did not sign, warned that the industrial relations environment on MTIA projects had become “highly challenging,” with an increase in “concerning behaviour” that could “significantly impact project costs and schedule”.

2026-09-23 · assertive framing · Bikies, ‘moral compass malfunctions’ and corruption cost: Victoria’s Big Build royal commission holds first public hearing

Datacentres in Victoria will be banned in residential areas and required to use renewable energy and contribute to the community, under new state government rules.

2026-09-21 · assertive framing · Datacentres in Victoria to be banned in residential areas

A re-elected Victorian Labor government will create two new Australian-first offences aimed at closing “loopholes” it says have allowed perpetrators of family violence to escape punishment.

2026-09-19 · assertive framing · Victorian Labor promises new offences to close domestic and family violence ‘loopholes’

Pauline Hanson announced who would be her party’s upper house candidates and Victorian leader, Warren Pickering, at a press conference last month.

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Also by Benita Kolovos Victorian state correspondent

Victorian election 2026: Concern and scepticism among Labor MPs as new poll shows party trailing One Nation

2026-11-09 · The Guardian

Alleged attack on One Nation supporter not believed to be politically motivated, Victoria police say

2026-11-04 · The Guardian

Man and boy arrested after One Nation volunteer allegedly attacked with baseball bat in Victoria

2026-11-03 · The Guardian

‘I forgot to pay’: Victoria’s premier Ben Carroll drives off without paying for petrol, sparking police inquiries

2026-10-20 · The Guardian

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 11 articles by Benita Kolovos Victorian state correspondent →

On Tuesday, the Liberals and Nationals also confirmed they would exchange preferences with One Nation, with the opposition leader, Jess Wilson, telling reporters how-to-vote cards for Coalition candidates would instruct voters to put Labor, the Greens and the Victorian Socialists “at the bottom of the ticket, and all other parties above that”.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-10

The Victorian Greens say Labor’s “frankly unforgivable” decision not to preference the minor party in a key inner-city seat could hand the upcoming election to a Liberal-One Nation coalition.

2026-11-10 · The Guardian

Victorian Labor’s ‘unforgivable’ preferences decision risks Liberal-One Nation government, Greens warn · assertive framing

The Victorian Greens say Labor’s “frankly unforgivable” decision not to preference the minor party in a key inner-city seat could hand the upcoming election to a Liberal-One Nation coalition. uncertain

decision → say → coalition

The party’s leader, Ellen Sandell, lambasted Labor’s decision on Tuesday to run an open ticket in Prahran, an inner Melbourne seat currently held by the Liberals’ Rachel Westaway on a tiny 1.3% margin. asserted

leader → lambast → margin

It means Labor’s how-to-vote material will encourage voters to place their candidate, Meghan Hopper, first on the ballot but will not direct them how to allocate their remaining preferences. asserted

material → mean → preferences

Instead, the remaining boxes on its how-to-vote material will probably remain blank. asserted

boxes → remain → material

Labor preferences are key to the Greens cinching back the seat, which they lost in a 2025 byelection. asserted

they → cinch → byelection

The Greens received a 13.4% swing at the poll, with the result influenced by several factors, including Labor’s decision not to field a candidate, low voter turnout, a well-resourced campaign urging voters to put them last and unfavourable preference flows from other candidates. asserted

result → receive → candidates

This included the former Labor MP Tony Lupton, who contested the byelection as an independent. asserted

who → include → independent

Sandell told Guardian Australia Labor was “showing its true colours” by running an open ticket, as it could inadvertently help the Liberals and One Nation not only secure the seat but also government. uncertain

Liberals → tell → seat

“After months of scaremongering about a Liberal-One Nation government, Labor is now using its preferences to help elect one,” she said. asserted

she → scaremongere → one

The result may come down to a single seat, and a divisive party like One Nation could hold the balance of power. uncertain

party → come → power

“It is frankly unforgivable that Labor would do a dodgy back-room deal to help elect a Liberal-One Nation government – and it’s something that Victorian voters will not easily forget.” asserted

voters → do → that

Sandell said Labor voters would be also “shocked” to see the party refusing to preference a “local, progressive Greens woman in Prahran”, Angelica Di Camillo, who also ran at the byelection. asserted

who → say → byelection

Labor is also running an open ticket in the neighbouring seat of Caulfield, held by the Liberals’ David Southwick on a 2.1% margin. asserted

Labor → run → margin

But it is expected Southwick will see a swing in his favour and comfortably retain the seat. asserted

Southwick → expect → seat

It is understood the local campaigns in Prahran and Caulfield requested the open ticket arrangement, which is consistent with the position Labor took at the 2025 federal election in the overlapping seat of Macnamara, held by Josh Burns, amid the height of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. asserted

Labor → understand → Gaza

A Labor spokesperson said: “Our message is simple: put a 1 next to Labor candidates everywhere. asserted

message → say → candidates

We’re fighting for majority government.” asserted

We → fight → government

Caulfield is home to Victoria’s largest Jewish community, which also extends into St Kilda East in the Prahran electorate. asserted

which → extend → electorate

cards → confirm → that

Just hours after Wilson confirmed the position, One Nation moved to disendorse its Preston candidate, Franco Guardiani, over tweets, including one that described Hitler as the “GOAT”, an acronym which stands for greatest of all time. asserted

which → confirm → time

The Victorian Liberal Senator Jane Hume told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing Guardiani’s tweets were “vile” and confirmed he would be last on the party’s how-to-vote material in the electorate. asserted

he → tell → electorate

Victorian Labor’s ‘unforgivable’ preferences decision risks Liberal-One Nation government, Greens warn

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