In short:
Point Cook is shaping up as a fascinating contest ahead of the November state election. A changing political landscape has added fresh uncertainty to one of Labor’s historically safe zones.
No Party Has A Clear Run
With much of the spotlight on the marginal seat of Werribee, another fascinating contest is taking shape next door in Point Cook.
Historically Labor heartland, the electorate, centred on one of Australia’s most ethnically and linguistically diverse suburbs, remains something of an unknown quantity in the November state election.
Not originally from the area, Labor’s Mathew Hilakari, a former researcher and political staffer, became the newly established electorate’s first MP in 2022.
Hilakari won comfortably, securing 40.04 per cent of the primary vote compared with Liberal candidate Angela Newhouse’s 24.68 per cent, before finishing with 58.34 per cent after two-party-preferred votes were counted.
Despite the victory, Victorian Parliament analysis recorded a 6.23-point two-party-preferred swing against Labor compared with Point Cook’s predecessor, Altona.
However, the political landscape across Victoria, Melbourne’s west and even locally is markedly different from four years ago.
(Liberal Point Cook candidate Raja Reddy and Western Metropolitan Region candidate Roshena Campbell.)
Heated Contest For State May Be Reflected Locally
Since then, there have been two changes of Premier, while voter angst boiled over next door at the 2025 Werribee by-election.
Labor’s primary vote plunged 16.55 percentage points at the 2025 Werribee by-election, leaving it behind the Liberals on first preferences before John Lister scraped over the line by just 693 votes after the full distribution of preferences.
Meanwhile, a three-way battle is taking shape for control of Spring Street, with Labor, the Coalition and One Nation locked in an unusually tight statewide contest.
Roy Morgan puts Labor and the Coalition level on 26 per cent of the primary vote, with One Nation on 23.5 per cent.
Plain Politics has the Coalition on 27.9 per cent, Labor on 25.3 per cent and One Nation on 23.5 per cent, while Australian Election Tracker has them at 27.7, 25.4 and 23.8 per cent respectively.
Liberal challenger Raja Reddy, a migration agent and small business owner, is no stranger to the ballot paper, having contested Laverton at the 2022 state election before running for Wyndham City Council’s Featherbrook Ward in 2024.
While beating Hilakari head-to-head would be a tall order for Reddy, the One Nation wildcard could give him a helping hand by proxy.
(One Nation Point Cook candidate Cameron Reid.)
One Nation Wild Card May Reshuffle Deck
One Nation candidate Cameron Reid, a long-time local with a background in emergency response and real estate, arrives as part of the party’s broader orange wave across Victoria.
Reddy will be fighting for centrist voters at the same time new Premier Ben Carroll attempts a de-Allanisation of Labor, desperately trying to retain politically moderate voters, while One Nation may draw significant support from disaffected former Liberal voters.
If One Nation voters ultimately preference the Liberals over Labor, votes initially lost by Reddy on the primary count could find their way back to him later.
Also in the race is local Greens candidate Ponraj Krishna Pandi, an IT consultant and community organiser who lives within the electorate and previously contested Gellibrand for the Greens at the 2025 federal election.
Who Will Win Point Cook?
(Point Cook electoral boundaries.)
Left-Wing Candidates Will Counter Orange Wave
Pandi is mounting a considerable grassroots campaign across Point Cook, while Hilakari is also well and truly on the campaign trail as he fights to retain the seat.
Based on historical voting patterns, Greens voters are likely to favour Labor over both the Liberals and One Nation, potentially giving Hilakari a crucial boost at the finish line.
In an increasingly fractured contest, that preference advantage, coupled with experience in running and organising campaigns, could make all the difference.
Mathew Hilakari, Raja Reddy, Cameron Reid and Ponraj Krishna Pandi were each given the opportunity to provide comment or information for Wyndham TV’s consideration in this article.
Mr Pandi responded, saying his priorities included increased funding for public schools, an overhauled bus network and a new pool and indoor sports facility.
(Wyndham Deputy Mayor Jasmine Hill and The Greens Point Cook candidate Ponraj Krishna Pandi.)
Campaigns To Watch Closely
“Labor had years to fix this and delivered nothing but band-aid and patchwork fixes,” Mr Pandi said.
He blamed successive Labor and Liberal governments for underinvestment in the west, while also criticising One Nation’s focus on migration.
“One Nation runs the same script everywhere it campaigns: blame migrants for problems that governments actually caused,” he said.
“Point Cook’s schools aren’t overcrowded because of who moved here. They’re overcrowded because governments didn’t build fast enough to keep up with growth they knew was coming.”
Mr Hilakari, Mr Reddy and Mr Reid provided no response.
The West Party has listed Mark Grech as its Point Cook candidate. No further information has been listed.
The electorate takes in parts of Altona Meadows, Point Cook, Seabrook and Werribee South, with the bulk of the electorate comprising the suburb of Point Cook.
