Former Liberal minister Alan Tudge announced yesterday that he will be stepping down from parliament, thus triggering a by-election for his Melbourne-area seat of Aston.
Check out the guide to the Aston by-election
Aston is one of only three Liberal seats held in Melbourne proper after losing Chisholm, Higgins, Goldstein and Kooyong to Labor and independents at last May’s federal election. Tudge held on by a margin of just 2.8% after an above-average swing of 7.3%.
The seat lies in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, covering the Knox council area, including the suburbs of Bayswater, Boronia, Knoxfield, Scoresby, Wantirna and Rowville.
The slim margin could be tempting for Labor. On the one hand, that swing took place in an environment of a Coalition government and a scandal-plagued local member, which is no longer the case, and it is very rare that governments gain seats at by-elections. But we have a new federal government which is still popular in the polls. This by-election could also be a test of the leadership of Peter Dutton.
I have updated my Aston election guide with 2022 election results, booth breakdowns and maps, and you can check it out now.
