Overview
- Labor announced an SEC-run apprenticeship academy that Premier Jacinta Allan said on Saturday, May 23, will offer 2,000 electrical-trade placements over four years and cost about $50 million to establish.
- Opposition leader Jess Wilson told the Liberal state council on the same day that a Coalition government would direct 25 percent of all new Victorian government infrastructure spending to regional projects.
- Former federal director Brian Loughnane was installed as Victorian Liberal state president and used his first speech to demand party unity after years of factional disputes and an unresolved legal challenge over a party loan.
- Recent polls reported by multiple outlets show the Coalition holding a narrow two-party-preferred lead with Wilson ahead as preferred premier while One Nation’s support rises, but the Coalition still needs a net gain of 16 seats to form government.
- The announcements rest on longer-term debates about the State Electricity Commission — revived in 2023 after its 1990s privatisation — and rank-and-file motions on issues like Melbourne public housing tower demolitions and lowering the probationary licence age that could shape campaign messaging and voter concerns.