Election Roundup
Results of the 2006 Victorian State Election
After months of hard work on the part of candidates, the 2006 State election is now completed.
The election did not result in a change of Government with Steve Bracks and the ALP elected for a third consecutive term. That said, the number of seats won by each of the upper house parties is yet to be confirmed. The new ministry and the shadow ministry are outlined further down in this article.
LOWER HOUSE
A few seats were closely contested including Ferntree Gully (49.98% ALP, 50.02% Liberal) and Melbourne(51.91% ALP, 48.09% Greens).
Bruce McClure—Liberal Candidate for Bendigo West
Unfortunately Bruce was not successful in this campaign. Bruce received 29% of the first party preferences.
LOWER HOUSE SEATS
| Party | Seats |
| ALP | 27 |
| Liberal | 9 |
| Greens | 0 |
| Other | 1 (National) |
The ALP obtained the majority of the Lower House seats (27) compared to the Liberal Party (9) with one seat going to the National Party.
UPPER HOUSE
From the 2006 State election, Upper House electorates will now be called regions. There will be eight regions, with each region represented by five members. Each region will have approximately 420,000 electors.
Previously, the Upper House consisted of 22 provinces each represented by 2 members.
As a result of this change, Victoria will now be represented by 40 members as opposed to 44 in the past.
Rita Bentley—Recreational Environment Group
Unfortunately, Rita Bentley was also unsuccessful in her contest for an Upper House seat.
UPPER HOUSE 1st PREFERENCE
| Party | % First Pref |
| ALP | 42 |
| Liberal | 35 |
| Greens | 11 |
| Other | 12 |
The Upper House seats are yet to be confirmed, however the above table outlines the number of first preference votes obtained by each of the parties.
Premier Announces Rejuvenated Cabinet Portfolios
The Premier, Steve Bracks, announced a major Cabinet reshuffle to drive the Government’s third term agenda and focus on the key areas of education, public transport, climate change and mental health.
Mr Bracks said the new look Cabinet portfolios reflected the Government’s commitment to rebuilding or modernising all public schools across Victoria, tackling the emerging problem of climate change and creating a skilled and competitive workforce.
“The Government has worked hard over the last seven years in rebuilding the health and education systems and these new portfolios acknowledge there is more work to be done,” Mr Bracks said.
Mr Bracks said Deputy Premier John Thwaites would take up a new super portfolio of water, environment and climate change with an Office of Climate Change to be created within the Department of Premier and Cabinet and a new Office of Water to be established in the Department of Sustainability and Environment.
“Tackling climate change and making sure Victorians have a sustainable environment in the years ahead is a key priority of the Government,” Mr Bracks said. “The Office for Climate Change will co-ordinate greenhouse policy across Government and focus on the longer term challenges for our State.”
Mr Bracks said education remained the number one priority and John Lenders as Education Minister and Jacinta Allan as Education Services Minister will oversee the largest postwar modernisation building program in our public schools.
“Every Victorian child deserves the best start in life and Minister Lenders is well skilled to take on this important portfolio to ensure our education system remains first-class,” he said. “Minister Allan will also have a revamped skills portfolio with skills and training moving into the Industry Department.”
Mr Bracks said improving the capacity of the public transport network and implementing the Government’s $10.5 billion Transport Action Plan Meeting our Transport Challenges was a key priority and the Transport portfolio would now be split into roads and public transport.
Lynne Kosky will take on public transport while Tim Pallas will take on Roads and Ports. John Brumby will keep his portfolio of Treasurer and Innovation but State and Regional Development will be split with Mr Brumby retaining Regional and Rural Development.
Mr Bracks said there would also be a dedicated Minister for Planning with Justin Madden taking on the portfolio. Mr Bracks said under the other changes announced today with Evan Thornley taking on the newly created position as Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier focusing on the National Reform Agenda.
Peter Harris will move from the DPI to become the new Secretary of the DSE while Richard Bolt will become the Secretary of the DPI.
Extract of Media Release 29/11/06
Ted Baillieu Announces New Shadow Cabinet
Liberal Leader Ted Baillieu today announced a team that will hold Labor to its election promises while providing continued scrutiny of the Government’s daily affairs. “The new Shadow Cabinet benefits from a blend of experience and new faces.”
Extract of Media Release 6/12/06
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