Latest / Politics with Michelle Grattan
The Batman byelection battleground
Byelections are not just important in the obvious sense of their results, but also for the confidence of political players.
On Saturday Labor and Bill Shorten face a major test in the Melbourne seat of Batman, traditionally Labor but with the Greens now threatening the ALP’s hold.
A Labor loss would be a blow to the morale of the opposition - it would also open some debate within the party about Shorten’s performance and what should be done to combat the Greens at the next election.
On the other hand, if the ALP’s Ged Kearney came home victorious Labor would be well placed to put the heat on…
The skinny
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