Seats declared, Staley officially out

THE official results from last month’s State election are in, and they have confirmed what many already knew, Ballarat is all Labor.

Both Wendouree – which was easily claimed by Julianna Addison, and the new seat of Eureka – where Michaela Settle moved across from Buninyong, were never doubt.

However, there was still a minor drama in the west of the city where the redistributed Division of Ripon saw the confirmed defeat of sitting member Louise Staley.

Ms Staley held out on conceding for 11 days after the election, even though most pundits had awarded the win to Labor’s Martha Haylett on election night.

When she did concede, Ms Staley said the 26 November vote would be her last running for public office.

“My time in public life has now ended. I will not be a candidate in the future but I look forward to backing the next Liberal candidate for Ripon and helping her or him win back the seat for the Liberal Party in 2026,” she said.

“Representing the people of Ripon in the Victorian Parliament has been the greatest honour and delight of my professional life.

“I loved every minute of it and I thank the Liberal Party for preselecting me and the voters for electing me twice.

“The communities of Ripon rightly demand much of their MP and I worked every day to repay the trust placed in me over eight years.

“I congratulate Martha Haylett MP on her election.”

Once conceded, Ms Haylett acknowledged Ms Staley for her time as the Member for Ripon and outlined her plans for the next four years.

“I thank her for her service to our community over the last eight years,” Ms Haylett said.

“To the voters of Ripon, I am humbled by your support. I understand the job you’ve given me and I will not let you down.

“We ran a people-powered campaign with a strong message of what a Labor Government can do for our community.

“We will get straight to work on delivering key promises, including making VLine fares equal with metro Melbourne, re-establishing the State Electricity Commission to reduce power bills, upgrading sporting facilities, and building brand-new childcare centres.

“It will be the honour of my life to represent Ripon in the Victorian Parliament and do what matters for our region.”