These two videos contain the ABC’s election night coverage of the 1988 Victorian state election count.

The election was won by the ALP, delivering a third consecutive victory for Premier John Cain, against the Liberal Party’s Jeff Kennett.

The coverage is notable for the accurate predictions of Senator Robert Ray, the Minister for Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs in the Hawke government. Surrounded by defeated Liberals arguing they were still in with a chance, Ray was the first to predict that the Cain government would be returned with the loss of just one seat, Warrandyte.

The ALP won 46 seats to 33 for the Liberal Party and 9 for the Nationals. The Nationals lost one seat, Mildura, to the Liberal Party. [Read more…]