Key Points
- Labor won Saturday's Aston by-election.
- Mary Doyle would be the first woman to hold the seat.
- The by-election loss has been described as a 'disaster' for the Liberal party.
Federal Labor's newest MP says she is humbled and honoured to have claimed a historic victory and has vowed to always put her community first.
Mary Doyle unexpectedly won the eastern Melbourne electorate of Aston on Saturday, marking the first time a government party has won a seat from the Opposition in a by-election in more than 100 years. She's also the first woman to hold the seat since its creation in 1984.
Ms Doyle promised to hit the ground running.
"I promise to every single one of you, whether you voted for me or not, I will always listen," the breast cancer survivor and former unionist said on Sunday.
"I will always do the best I can for this area and I will always put locals first."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Ms Doyle would make a difference to her local community.
"Mary Doyle's compassion, dignity and just common decency really shone through during the campaign," he said, standing alongside his newest caucus member.
Mr Albanese said Australians had conflict fatigue and wanted the government to get things done, as he accused Opposition leader Peter Dutton of being obstructionist.
"Just as he is saying no to all of the policies that are being put forward, Australians said no to him and the people of Aston said no to him," he said.
The Opposition's candidate for Aston, Roshena Campbell, conceded defeat on Saturday night as the former Liberal stronghold turned red under a more than 6 per cent swing to Ms Doyle.
Will Peter Dutton lose the Liberal leadership?
While he has taken responsibility for the loss, he's vowed to fight on, saying he leads a united team.
"I can tell you it makes me more determined to rebuild this party and be in a winning position by 2025," Mr Dutton told the ABC's Insiders program on Sunday.
"Now, the question is how we rebuild from here, the policies that we have, the brand rebuilding that we need to do in Victoria and it is a very significant issue for us."
"I can tell you it makes me more determined to rebuild this party and be in a winning position by 2025."
Mr Dutton argued state issues also played into the loss, given the dominance of the state Labor government, while noting that Melbourne seats had always been tough for the Liberals to win.
"Obviously, the difficulties for us in Victoria haven't germinated in Aston over the course of the last five weeks," he said.
"Even back to 2013, with all of my predecessors, Victoria is the one state that we have never held a majority of seats in and there are huge issues at a state level as well."
As the result of the by-election became clear on Saturday night, Federal Liberal MP Keith Wolahan issued a plea to his party to come together.
He also stood by Mr Dutton's leadership, adding: "I saw good and bad leaders in the most trying of circumstances and he has all the qualities of a good leader."
His comments were backed by fellow Victorian and senator Jane Hume, who said she "cannot imagine there would be any mood in the party room for (a change of leader)".
"There is no doubt this is a blow but he is a leader with a solid team behind him," she told the ABC.
Aston was held by the Liberals on a 2.8 per cent margin after former minister and outgoing member Alan Tudge suffered a large swing against him in 2022 election. The by-election was triggered when he quit politics in February.
Other candidates for the seat were Angelica Di Camillo (Greens), Owen Miller (Fusion) and Maya Tesa (independent).
