Voting is underway in two Melbourne by-elections, marking a major test for the Allan Labor government, and newly installed Liberal leader Brad Battin.
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00:0043,000 people are expected to cast their votes at polling stations like the one behind me
00:07in the inner city seat of Paran this morning.
00:10This is a seat that covers suburbs like South Yarra, Windsor and Paran itself, typically
00:15a younger demographic and a lot of the people that we've been speaking to say that housing
00:19and cost of living concerns are among their top priorities, but also crime in the area.
00:24We know that Victoria Police has responded to a 12% increase in the number of incidents
00:29in the area in the last year alone, amid a spate of alleged armed robberies and arson
00:34attacks as well.
00:36This is a seat that was vacated by the resignation of Greens MP Sam Hibbons and it's now become
00:41a two-way contest between the Greens and the Liberals.
00:45Labor not putting up a candidate, but what is interesting is that former Labor MP Tony
00:49Lupton is running as an independent alongside another eight independent candidates.
00:54Meanwhile, on the other side of Melbourne in the western suburbs, the Werribee by-election
00:58is also taking place, where 56,000 people will be casting their votes there.
01:02There's a dozen candidates that are vying for a seat there, including the major parties.
01:08Infrastructure and public transport are among the top concerns there.
01:13So interesting developments across two Melbourne by-elections today in what is set to be a
01:18litmus test for the Allen Labor government, who haven't been performing as well in polls
01:22as they would like, but also a test for the newly elected opposition leader, Brad Batten,
01:29who came to office just after Christmas last year.