Federal Labor’s newest MP says she is humbled and honoured to have claimed a historic victory and has vowed to always put her community first.
Mary Doyle unexpectedly won the eastern Melbourne electorate of Aston on Saturday, marking the first time a government party has won a seat from the opposition in a by-election in more than 100 years.
Ms Doyle promised to hit the ground running.
“I promise to every single one of you, whether you voted for me or not, I will always listen,” she said on Sunday.
“I will always do the best I can for this area and I will always put locals first.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Ms Doyle would make a difference to her local community.
‘Compassion, dignity, common decency’
“Mary Doyle’s compassion, dignity and just common decency really shone through during the campaign,” he said, standing alongside his newest caucus member.
Mr Albanese said Australians had conflict fatigue and wanted the government to get things done, as he accused Opposition Leader Peter Dutton of being obstructionist.
“Just as he is saying no to all of the policies that are being put forward, Australians said no to him and the people of Aston said no to him,” he said.
Mr Dutton vowed the Liberals will come together and rebuild as the party faces serious soul-searching.
Its candidate for Aston, Roshena Campbell, conceded defeat on Saturday night as the former Liberal stronghold turned red under a more than six per cent swing to Ms Doyle.
While Mr Dutton has taken responsibility as leader for the loss he vowed to fight on, saying he leads a united team.
“I can tell you it makes me more determined to rebuild this party and be in a winning position by 2025,” he told the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.
“Now, the question is how we rebuild from here, the policies that we have, the brand rebuilding that we need to do in Victoria and it is a very significant issue for us.”
Labor minister Ed Husic said traditional Liberal voters had abandoned the party because of their negativity in opposition.
“The Liberal Party need a period of reflection and to think whether or not the approach they have always had once they go into opposition – the Tony Abbott approach to saying no to everything – is the way to go,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
But Mr Husic said the historic win was no guarantee Labor would clean up at the next federal election – which could be called as early as the end of 2024.
Doubts about Dutton
The Aston by-election was widely considered to be an early test of Mr Dutton’s leadership, although political pundits incorrectly tipped the Liberals to retain the seat.
Ms Doyle, a breast cancer survivor and former unionist, failed to win the seat from Morrison minister Alan Tudge at the May federal election although she did whittle down his double-digit margin down to 2.8 per cent.
Even the most “optimistic true believers” had her pitted as the underdog in the Aston campaign, she noted on Saturday night during her victory speech.
“We were the underdog, but boy, have we shown that we have a big bite,” she said.
Meanwhile, the newly elected NSW Labor premier said the Aston win was a huge endorsement of Mr Albanese’s leadership.
“It’s probably more a reflection of the federal government doing well,” Chris Minns told Sky News on Sunday.
“Getting a mid-term report card from the people of Australia that they like the direction of the Albanese government and they want to see more of it.”
The by-election was triggered after Mr Tudge quit politics in February.
-AAP
