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Polls have closed in the federal seat of Aston in a by-election that is expected to lead to the opposition retaining the seat.
Anthony Albanese was on the ground earlier on Saturday in suburban Melbourne hoping to wrest the seat away from the Liberal party.
The prime minister was campaigning for Labor candidate Mary Doyle, who is up against Liberal Roshena Campbell, a City of Melbourne councillor and barrister.
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The seat was left vacant after the resignation of former minister Alan Tudge, who quit parliament after the Morrison government lost power, but is not considered likely to swing to the Labor party.
The seat in Melbourne's outer south-east has been held by the Liberals since 1990, but its 53-47 per cent two-party preferred margin in last year's election has Labor hopeful of a pickup.
However, Albanese himself dampened expectations in a press conference this morning.
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"We are taking this campaign seriously. But history tells us that the Coalition, the Liberal Party, should be in a very strong position," he said.
"That is just what history says."
He took a swing at the Liberal party leadership at the press conference.
"They block and say no to absolutely everything in the parliament," he said.
"They are very negative in the way that they approach everything. And I think Australians deserve better."
https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1641951451219136512
The Labor campaign has made much of the unpopularity of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
An internal Labor poll showed that while the Liberals were ahead in the seat, only 21 per cent of Aston voters approved of Dutton.
The opposition leader, for his part, said the by-election was a chance to send the federal government a message.
"Cost of living pressures are real for families," he said.
"The opportunity in the election today is to send a very clear message to Labor that they shouldn't be cutting local road funding, and they shouldn't be abandoning this community."
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