
Winds of change are blowing through the region's upper house as a contest for the final available seat narrows between two progressive parties.
With more than 60 per cent of the vote counted, a tight race has emerged between the Greens' Sarah Mansfield and Legalise Cannabis Victoria's Andrew Dowling.
Mr Dowling leads the count at 8.78 per cent to Dr Mansfield's 8.58 per cent but the Greens member is expected to close the gap with below-the-line votes. The final results are not expected to be formalised by the Victorian Electoral Commission until December 13.
The elected representative will join confirmed Labor member Jacinta Ermacora and incumbent Gayle Tierney and the Liberal's sitting MP Bev McArthur and newly appointed member Joe McCracken.
The new Western Victoria upper house members will be replacing Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick and Derryn Hinch Justice Party MP Stuart Grimley who both failed to accrue enough votes and preferences for re-election.
Western Victoria Greens candidate Sarah Mansfield said it was too close to comment on the upper house race but was proud of the Greens' campaign.
"We saw across Western Victoria, a positive swing," she said.
"It's a testament to the campaign that we ran and how our key policies and messages resonated with people."
Dr Mansfield said she had anticipated it would be a tough task to win a seat in regional Victoria but was glad to see the Greens vote grow.
"The upper house is always challenging given the nature of the voting system," she said.
"In the lower house, we have retained the seats we had and managed to gain another one.
"I expect, other time, that vote will grow in the western region."
IN OTHER NEWS
Legalise Cannabis Victoria candidate Andrew Dowling said he was surprised his party had gotten so close to gaining a seat in parliament.
"It's been a bit of a crazy and wild ride tracking the results," he said.
"We're really pleased with the way the party's performed."
Mr Dowling said the result was a sign people who use cannabis medically and recreationally want law reform that has been "ignored for far too long".
"A lot of the policies we stand for are about trying to remove the current laws that are harming Victorians," he said.
"Possessing cannabis is still illegal and that unfortunately results in needless law enforcement.
"We'd also like to reform drug-driving laws."
He said he was "thrilled" by the support his party had received so far, hoping it'd be an indication of future electoral success.
"We're hopeful that we can get at least one person in the upper house and be that voice for cannabis law reform," he said.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark https://www.standard.net.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines and newsletters
- Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn
- Tap here to open our Google News page
- Join our Courts and Crime Facebook group and our dedicated Sport Facebook group
- Subscribe
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.