Mansfield wins seat in Upper House

CITY of Greater Geelong councillor and Greens candidate Sarah Mansfield has been elevated to state politics, winning the fifth and final seat for the Western Victoria Region at last month’s Victorian election.

The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) officially calculated the results for all eight regions on Wednesday this week, progressively announcing the results over the course of the morning.

As predicted based on early results, the Liberals won two seats in the Upper House, with Beverley McArthur re-elected and Joe McCracken entering Parliament; and Labor won two seats, with Gayle Tierney re-elected and Jacinta Ermacora taking over from the retiring Jaala Pulford.

Indicative counts had the fifth seat coming down to a three-way fight between incumbent MP Stuart Grimley from Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party, Ms Mansfield, and Andrew Dowling from Legalise Cannabis Victoria.

Incumbent Upper House member Andy Meddick from the Animal Justice Party was also not re-elected.

Ms Mansfield’s win – one of four Greens to be elected – means she will have to resign as a City of Greater Geelong councillor if she is to sit in state Parliament, and a countback will be held to determine who takes her spot in the Brownbill Ward.

The final makeup of the Upper House comprises 15 Labor seats, 14 Coalition seats and an 11-seat crossbench (including Ms Mansfield), meaning Labor will need support from at least six crossbenchers to win votes if the Coalition wants to block legislation.