Live: Stalking laws in focus, days from early voting in Victorian election

The major parties are pitching their policies to voters just two days before early voting opens in the Victorian election.The Liberals have announced proposed new anti-stalking laws, dubbed Celeste's Law after murder victim Celeste Manno.Labor leader Ben Carroll is pledging to slash public hospital waiting lists with a $1.2 billion investment.Follow our coverage as it happens.Mon 16 Nov 2026 at 10:19amMon 16 Nov 2026 at 10:19amNo joy in the polls for LaborWith just 12 days to go before the election, Labor's primary vote shows little sign of turning around.Pollster Kos Samaras from Redbridge Group says his organisation's polling now paints a poor picture for Labor in terms of primary vote."Very clear that the Labor Party's trailing in the polls. They're now around the low 20s. They were polling in the mid-20s for a good part of this year," he tells 774 ABC Melbourne.Samaras, who is a former Labor strategist, says it's a better story for the Liberals, whose primary vote is slowly climbing."The difference with them is that they have gone from the mid-20s to about the low 30s now, and this is why they are well positioned to win this election."Samaras says both parties left their campaign launches late and it will be tough to make an impact on voters this late in the game."People tend to tune out from politics, even during an election. It takes them a long time to get cut-through."Mon 16 Nov 2026 at 10:09amMon 16 Nov 2026 at 10:09amLabor promises to slash surgery waiting listsHealth Minister Ingrid Stitt has been spruiking yesterday's announcement from Labor that they would pump $1.2 billion into public hospitals to slash surgery waiting lists by half.The pledge would fund an extra 100,000 planned surgeries in public hospitals, while a complementary promise to fund an extra 500,000 specialist appointments would involve a $195 million spend."We are performing record numbers of surgeries, but the demand is growing and that is for a number of reasons, including population growth and a higher level of acuity of people presenting at our emergency departments," Stitt told 774 ABC Melbourne.Health Minister Ingrid Stitt is spruiking Labor's surgery pledge. (AAP James Ross)The Coalition announced its own plan last month to halve the waiting list for elective surgeries.Jess Wilson said her party would establish a $1.27 billion program where the government would pay private hospitals to deliver some elective surgeries to public patients, at no cost to the patient.Stitt says Labor would not go down that road."We will deliver all of these additional surgeries in the public health system. That's not what the Liberal proposal is all about," she says."Jess Wilson's first instinct was to send surgeries to private, for-profit hospitals."Stitt defended Labor's recent record on the issue, saying despite dropping a target in 2024, record surgeries were being carried out in the public system.Mon 16 Nov 2026 at 9:59amMon 16 Nov 2026 at 9:59amLiberals announce new laws targeting stalkersOpposition leader Jess Wilson has announced stalkers will be placed under 24-hour GPS monitoring as part of proposed new laws.The proposed new legislation has been dubbed 'Celeste's Law' after 23-year-old Celeste Manno, who was murdered by a former colleague who stalked her for months.Celeste Manno was murdered in her home in 2020. (Supplied)The Liberals say the law implements all of the Victorian Law Reform Commission's report on stalking."Celeste Manno should still be here today. Her death exposed gaps in our justice system that must be addressed," Jess Wilson says."Whether your stalker is a former partner, a colleague or a stranger, you deserve the same protection under the law."In addition to 24-hour monitoring, stalkers would be subject to intervention orders, with exclusion zones around victims' homes and workplaces.The policy also includes mandatory specialist stalking training for Victoria Police recruits and serving officers.Mon 16 Nov 2026 at 9:58amMon 16 Nov 2026 at 9:58amWelcome to today's blogGood morning and welcome to today's Victorian state election live blog.Stay with us as we bring you the latest news from the campaign trail.