Fast start is nothing without a good finish Labor should remember that it still has its hardest yards to go, writes Rob Hulls. RACING analogies are often cheerfully employed around Victorian elections, such are the irresistible parallels. The starting gun has been fired, the polls signal a favourite, they're off to a strong start ... and so it goes on. In the wake of Gough Whitlam's memorial service yesterday, however, it's hard to ignore another layer to this analogy. Among the many tributes, some of the most moving spoke of the strong start that Whitlam gave them - the decision 40 years ago to make tertiary education free which meant that, for the first time in many families, a university qualification was possible. People spoke not only of the difference made to their own lives, but of a foundation on which subsequent generations could build. Education, of course, is ALP home turf and last week Victorian Labor got out of the gates with a strong start that was, essentially, about giving others the same. A TAFE rescue fund, the return of Tech Schools, help with the costs of school camps and uniforms, the list went on. Often forgotten in the mix, it also included additional funds for kindergartens, something that will not have gone unnoticed by Victorian parents, with a stop-work by kindergarten teachers fresh in their minds from a fortnight ago. With Tony Abbott's cuts to NewStart starting to hit, and its deregulation of the university sector looming, the pincer movement of state and federal Coalition governments will have Victorian families decidedly nervous about their children's future. That is why yesterday's follow-up by the Andrews team was so smart. A symbolic but telling move , Labor's announcement that new number plates will describe Victoria as The Education State speaks volumes of how an Andrews Government would position itself - as well as the people it governs. In contrast, the Coalition has not yet made any real mark on that terrain, although it's perhaps to be expected as there's not been much of a story to tell. Taking up the leadership mantle halfway through, Denis Napthine is an accidental latecomer to this race - the Steven Bradbury of Victorian politics, to employ a different sporting analogy - still dazed and blinking on the dais. Though we may enjoy an accidental hero in the sporting arena, the problem in the political context is that winning the race is just the beginning. Taking office means you've got a huge job and you need a plan to see it through. It was never the case with this Coalition team. Ted Baillieu didn't seem to want the job, particularly after the controversy surrounding his Deputy Premier and the former Chief Commissioner of Police, and put up little fight when he was dumped. Meanwhile, Napthine sways in front of the camera, punch-drunk from the relentless array of distractions in his path. From the ongoing Geoff Shaw debacle, to his former Speaker Ken Smith; from the sudden resignation of his Anti-Corruption Minister, to the porn ring controversy (the image of which is just so wrong on so many levels); it's not surprising that Napthine, in turn, has taken his own tumbles since assuming the lead. It's hard to keep your eye on the finish line when you're perpetually adjusting your goggles. THAT has, in part, allowed Labor to flank the Coalition before anybody realised what was happening. Nobody, not even the most optimistic of Labor stalwarts, would have expected to be riding so high in the polls as they approached this election. After all, Victorians, like all Australian voters, are inclined to give governments a go before they withdraw their support. But the circus at Spring St has allowed Andrews and his team to go about quietly building the story that they want to tell. Its first chapter is promising, but the rest is still to unfold. Labor still has to explain more fully what its plan is for the state's health system, as well as for returning some of the countless jobs lost in Victoria over the past four years. These are the issues on which Labor's stakes always rise or fall and that is where the Andrews team needs to focus. It also needs to focus on that task which always proves difficult for any opposition: cutting through on a personal level about who this alternate premier might be and what he wants for Victoria. Again, in the wake of Gough's funeral it is useful to remember another oft-repeated tribute: that, regardless of his own towering personality, what Gough really gave us was a sense of who we were as a nation and, more importantly, who we could be. That is an invaluable bequest, one which may be echoed in the Andrews decision to position Victoria as The Education State, given that the state's sense of identity has been somewhat adrift. Over the next few weeks, however, Victorians will want to hear how this vision will be supported: with essential services, with jobs, and a sustainable economy. And this is where the cautionary racing analogies return. My grandfather was an SP bookmaker and told us to examine the form very closely. You could make excuses for one bad run, he said, but "winning form was good form" and overall performances needed to be consistent. Just as importantly, he warned that the first horse out of the gates was not necessarily first past the post. In a race over a long distance, Labor should remember that it still has its hardest yards to go. It can't be sidetracked by distractions on the field, nor succumb to its own set of spills. Labor may have the strongest form and start, but it has to keep its eyes firmly on the finish line if it's to avoid being overtaken by the accidental entrant in this electoral race. Whatever sporting analogy you favour, it will be the competitors" performance over the next few weeks that will tell who crosses this line first.