Victorian unions split from Labor with attack ads and campaign withdrawals
The Australian Services Union (ASU) has launched attack ads against Victorian Labor, with one reading "Ben lied. Labor lies" over an image of Premier Ben Carroll, according to The Guardian. The advertising comes weeks before the state's November 2026 election. The union has also confirmed it will not door-knock for Labor in the lead-up to the vote, meaning its members will not visit homes to campaign for the party.
The ASU's dispute with Labor concerns its campaign to lift the cap on the rates that councils can charge residents. The union claims it had a deal with former premier Jacinta Allan to lift the cap. According to the ASU, Ben Carroll scrapped that arrangement after becoming premier, citing cost-of-living concerns. Carroll replaced Allan in a leadership spill in July 2026, a process in which party members vote to replace their leader.
The ASU paid for its ads to run in the seats of Niddrie, Pascoe Vale and Bentleigh, as well as in seats held by the deputy premier, the treasurer and the local government minister. The union's Victorian branch is led by secretary Tash Wark.
The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) has also stepped back. Its state council resolved not to run a statewide campaign for Labor, sometimes called a third-party campaign, meaning one run by an outside group rather than the party itself. At the previous Victorian election, the ETU spent more than $1.6 million supporting Labor. According to The Guardian, the union plans to redirect money earmarked for the 2026 campaign toward preparing and defending the ETU and its members in the construction royal commission, a formal public inquiry into the building industry.
Polling commissioned by the ETU and received at the start of October predicted Labor would win 25 seats at the 2026 election, the same report says.
Campaign funding rules have also been under scrutiny this year. In April, the High Court, Australia's highest court, struck out Victoria's campaign finance laws ahead of the state election. In May, Victorian Labor sought to lift the cap on political donations to $10,000 as part of proposed changes to electoral law, according to ABC News.
