Carroll Sounds Alarm on One Nation Coalition

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has declared that the prospect of a Coalition government teaming up with One Nation "terrifies" him, as he escalated the state Labor party's warning about the potential alliance after November's state election.

"I will fight every day against the Liberal Party and One Nation coming together, because that is what will happen in November if Labor is not successful," Mr Carroll said. "That is why Labor must be successful. Failure is not an option."

"[The] Liberal Party and One Nation teaming together … they're about attacking working people. I'm about fighting for them," he added.

Mr Carroll's comments come as One Nation has enjoyed a swift rise in popularity, winning seats in recent by-elections in NSW and WA.

However, Victorian Liberal leader Jess Wilson took a different stance, saying she was "not really interested in the other parties" and was focused on winning a majority government.

"I'm not really interested in the other parties," Ms Wilson said. "I am running to win majority government at this election because I know that we have the plan to fix Victoria, and I know the only way to do that is to achieve majority government."

Ms Wilson also stated that she had not spoken to One Nation Victorian leader Warren Pickering and urged voters to "fix this state" by voting for the Coalition.

Competing Pitches

The competing pitches have sharpened the battle lines with just over two months until election day.

Redbridge insights adviser Kristy McSweeney, a former political advisor, said Mr Carroll was ramping up his One Nation warnings to specifically target disillusioned Labor voters who were considering switching their vote.

"He's going for a fear campaign due to Labor's very low primary vote and Labor trailing those two parties consistently over polls the last six months, including post his leadership change as the third party among Liberal, Labor and One Nation," Ms McSweeney said.

"He's throwing it at the wall to spark the fear of people from switching from Labor."

The Red Wall

Recent Redbridge polling shows the scale of One Nation's rise, with the Coalition on 29 per cent, One Nation on 25 per cent, and Labor on 24 per cent of the primary vote.

Ms McSweeney said Labor's warnings were particularly aimed at voters in Melbourne's west, where the party's traditional support base was frustrated that infrastructure had failed to keep pace with rapid population growth.

"It is a pitch to them to say, 'If you switch from Labor, you will get a One Nation-Liberal Coalition and that represents a lot of things that you don't like in multicultural communities out there on the peri-urban fringe," she said.

The region includes the seat of Melton — the nation's fastest growing local government area — as well as suburbs like Sunbury and Werribee, where Labor has built a strong base among migrant, working-class and first-home-buying communities.

Melton is held by Labor on a 4.6 per cent margin, but the once-safe seat is showing signs of vulnerability after more than three decades in Labor hands.