In short:
2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for Wyndham. A handful of forces will quietly influence how the city is governed, grows and functions day to day.
Wyndham enters 2026 carrying the momentum — and the strain — of rapid growth. The year ahead will be shaped by a handful of forces that cut across politics, safety, development and community life.
Wyndham TV has picked five issues that will be in play next year and are expected to have huge consequences on the area’s future.
1. Council Chaos
Kicking off the list in 2026 is council — and few expect it to be a quiet year at Wyndham City Council.
Following the 2024 local government election, councillors quickly settled into two clear and competing voting blocs that continue to shape decision-making.
One group — Crs Josh Gilligan, Mia Shaw, Jennie Barrera, Shannon McGuire, Maria King and Preet Singh — is widely referred to by residents, pundits and critics as the “Gang of Six”.
Opposing them is a bloc of five councillors: Peter Maynard, Robert Szatkowski, Susan McIntyre, Jasmine Hill and Larry Zhao.
The alignments are not formed along party lines, but their voting patterns have been consistent enough that “6–5” has become a familiar refrain in the council chamber.
That divide takes on added significance in 2026, with Josh Gilligan serving as mayor and Preet Singh as deputy mayor.
The split between the two blocs is widely expected to deepen and become more heated over the year ahead, with Gilligan long one of council’s most vocal critics of the state government over infrastructure delivery, funding priorities and what he describes as the neglect of high-growth areas like Wyndham.
Governance concerns were sharpened in 2025 by the fallout from a failed enterprise IT overhaul.
A $69 million blowout on an abandoned Oracle system was revealed during a parliamentary hearing, triggering warnings about systemic failures of oversight and leaving ratepayers with higher costs and limited accountability by year’s end.
The tensions have not remained confined to the chamber. Councillors have publicly clashed with state MPs and each other, while controversial decisions — including the Truganina Private Security Trial — have further divided the council and the community.
In April 2025, those fractures escalated when Cr Robert Szatkowski wrote to Minister for Local Government Steve Staikos, urging consideration of a Municipal Monitor over what he described as serious governance concerns.
With state oversight fresh in the minds of councils elsewhere and a state election approaching, the question of governance is set to hang over Wyndham throughout 2026.
2. Victoria's Crime Crisis
Crime remains one of the most confronting issues facing Victoria as 2026 begins, and Wyndham has not been immune to the broader surge being felt across the state.
Incidents involving violent offending, repeat offenders and highly visible retail and street crime have fuelled a growing sense of unease, particularly in fast-growing outer suburban areas.
For many residents, the issue is no longer abstract or statistical, but something encountered in shopping centres, car parks and neighbourhood streets.
State politicians have struggled to contain the problem, cycling through policy responses as public confidence frays.
High-profile measures such as the rollout of machete disposal bins and repeated changes to bail laws have drawn attention, but also criticism — raising questions about whether the state is addressing the causes of crime or simply reacting to its symptoms.
In Wyndham, crime concerns have intersected with local decisions, including controversial moves to trial private security patrols in some areas.
Supporters argue they provide reassurance in the absence of visible policing, while critics say they reflect a worrying erosion of confidence in the state’s ability to maintain public safety.
Police continue to point to complex drivers — youth disengagement, family violence, substance abuse, cost-of-living pressures and social media-fuelled behaviour — all playing out against a backdrop of rapid population growth.
Yet for residents, patience is wearing thin as political debate intensifies and solutions remain contested.
As 2026 unfolds, crime is set to remain both a policy battleground and a social barometer, reflecting deeper questions about cohesion, authority and the pressures shaping life in modern Victoria — and in Wyndham.
3. State Election
Crime is set to play a major role in who governs Wyndham at the state level when Victorians head to the polls on 28 November.
Incumbent MPs Mathew Hilakari, Sarah Connolly, Dylan Wight and John Lister will attempt to maintain Labor’s grip on Wyndham amid mounting dissatisfaction with the Allan Labor Government.
Beyond crime, residents are increasingly frustrated by cost-of-living pressures, major budget blowouts, the Treaty process, and roads and transport infrastructure that many believe has failed to keep pace with rapid growth in the west.
Those tensions surfaced clearly at the 2025 Werribee by-election, where Lister retained the seat but lost on first preferences — a result that exposed a potential crack in Labor’s electoral armour.
The opposition has struggled to capitalise. The Liberal Party, under Brad Battin, appointed upper house MP Moira Deeming to lead a renewed focus on the western suburbs, but internal instability — including a leadership spill involving Jess Wilson — left many local voters confused and unconvinced about the party’s readiness to govern.
As one of the youngest and fastest-growing regions in the country, Wyndham is also expected to see a strong Greens vote, a dynamic that may ultimately favour Labor through preferences.
At the same time, the West Party is set to contest both houses and has continued to grow its local profile, further complicating the electoral landscape as Wyndham heads toward a pivotal election.
4. Strain on Infrastructure
With a population now sitting at around 340,000 and projected to reach 500,000 by 2040, Wyndham enters 2026 already straining under infrastructure demands that many argue should have been addressed decades ago.
The message from residents is increasingly clear: Wyndham needs significantly more investment, and it needs it now.
Major arterial roads remain unduplicated despite carrying commuter volumes far beyond their original design.
Congestion on key corridors is no longer limited to peak hour, shaping daily life across the municipality and undermining confidence that growth is being properly planned or funded.
On rail, the contrast is stark. The Wyndham Vale line — home to some of the busiest commuter stations in the state — still operates on diesel, with no firm commitment to electrification.
West Tarneit Station is expected to relieve pressure when it opens, but surrounding growth means its impact may be limited without broader service upgrades.
Planning for the future Truganina station has also been regarded as a positive step, though timelines and funding remain uncertain.
At the same time, billions of dollars are being directed into major projects elsewhere, including a driverless train line on the Suburban Rail Loop East.
For many in Wyndham, the optics are difficult to ignore: new, high-cost infrastructure progressing in Melbourne’s east while the west’s most heavily used lines continue to rely on outdated rolling stock.
Compounding the challenge is Victoria’s strained financial position, with state debt and budget pressures limiting the scope for new commitments.
As 2026 unfolds, the central question for Wyndham is not whether infrastructure is needed, but whether the political will — and funding capacity — exists to finally close the gap between growth and delivery.
5. Community Resilience
Above everything else — regardless of who comes and goes in politics or power — Wyndham residents keep going, as they always have.
Residents past, present and emerging are what give the city its shape and substance.
Wyndham is built by real people, carrying real pressures alongside real pride: families balancing long commutes, small businesses carving out space, volunteers holding clubs together and neighbours quietly supporting one another without fanfare.
It is a community far deeper than slogans about unity or diversity, and one too experienced to confuse words with outcomes.
Wyndham’s strength lies not in uniformity, but in difference — of background, belief, opinion and ambition — and in the ability of those differences to coexist without needing to be flattened or packaged.
As 2026 unfolds, that resilience will matter more than any policy announcement or campaign line.
Long after the debates move on and the headlines fade, it is the people of Wyndham who will continue to shape the city’s character, direction and future.
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