Labor’s open ticket in Prahran could hand power to One Nation
The Greens warn that Labor’s refusal to direct preferences in a key Melbourne seat risks a decisive victory for a Liberal and One Nation coalition.
By Meera Fletcher ·
A 1.3% margin separates the incumbent Liberal member for Prahran, Rachel Westaway, from the next challenger in a seat that may determine the outcome of the upcoming Victorian state election. That slim buffer has placed the inner Melbourne electorate at the center of a strategic dispute between the state Labor Party and the Greens over how to count preferences.
Labor announced on Tuesday that it will run an open ticket in Prahran. The party’s how-to-vote material will instruct supporters to mark Labor candidate Meghan Hopper first, but it will leave the remaining preference boxes blank. This approach contrasts with the strategy used in the neighboring seat of Caulfield, where Labor is also running an open ticket, though that race is expected to remain with Liberal incumbent David Southwick, who holds a 2.1% lead.
The Greens, who lost Prahran in a 2025 byelection, view Labor’s decision as a critical error. Leader Ellen Sandell described the move as frankly unforgivable. She argued that by withholding its preferences, Labor is inadvertently providing the numerical support needed for a Liberal and One Nation government to form.
Sandell told Guardian Australia that Labor was showing its true colors by refusing to preference Angelica Di Camillo, the local Greens candidate who also contested the byelection. She stated that this could be one of the most consequential elections in the state’s history. According to Sandell, the result may hinge on a single seat, allowing a divisive party like One Nation to hold the balance of power.
The Greens received a 13.4% swing in the 2025 byelection. That result was shaped by several factors, including low voter turnout and a well-resourced campaign that urged voters to place the Greens last. Unfavorable preference flows from other candidates, including former Labor MP Tony Lupton who ran as an independent, also played a role in the final tally.
Local Labor campaigns in both Prahran and Caulfield requested the open ticket arrangement. This strategy mirrors the position Labor took in the overlapping federal seat of Macnamara during the 2025 federal election. A Labor spokesperson said the message is simple: put a 1 next to Labor candidates everywhere to fight for majority government.
On the same day, Liberal opposition leader Jess Wilson confirmed that the Coalition would exchange preferences with One Nation. Coalition how-to-vote cards will direct voters to place Labor, the Greens, and the Victorian Socialists at the bottom of the ticket. This confirmation came hours before One Nation moved to disendorse its Preston candidate, Franco Guardiani, after he posted tweets describing Adolf Hitler as the GOAT.
Victorian Liberal Senator Jane Hume called Guardiani’s tweets vile and confirmed he would be last on the party’s preference list in his electorate. The Prahran seat also includes St Kilda East, which is home to part of Victoria’s largest Jewish community.
