2025 Werribee state by-election
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Electoral district of Werribee in the Victorian Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 56,464[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 45,120 (79.9%  5.7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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_2022.svg) Location of the electoral district of Werribee | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2025 Werribee state by-election was held on 8 February 2025 to elect the member for Werribee in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, following the resignation of Labor MP Tim Pallas. It took place on the same day as a by-election for Prahran. On 19 February the Victorian Electoral Commission declared Labor candidate John Lister as the elected member for Werribee.[2]
Background
[edit]Seat details
[edit]Werribee is located in the rapidly growing outer south west suburbs of Melbourne, covering the suburbs of Werribee, Wyndham Vale, and the rural areas surrounding these suburbs to the south and west.[3] The seat, along with the electoral districts of Tarneit and Lara which covered the seat's area between 2002 and 2014, has been continuously held by Labor since 1979.
At the time of the 2021 Australian census, the seat had a median weekly personal income of $784, lower than the state ($803) and national ($805) averages. Less than a quarter of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher (24.1%), a figure lower than the state (29.2%) and national (26.3%) figures, and the median age of residents (34) is slightly younger than both the state and national rates (38).[4]
2022 election results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Tim Pallas | 17,512 | 45.4 | −0.6 | |
| Liberal | Mia Shaw | 9,779 | 25.3 | +8.7 | |
| Greens | Jack Boddeke | 2,613 | 6.8 | +0.3 | |
| Independent | Paul Hopper | 2,278 | 5.9 | +5.9 | |
| Victorian Socialists | Sue Munro | 1,391 | 3.6 | +3.6 | |
| Family First | Matthew Emerson | 964 | 2.5 | +2.5 | |
| Democratic Labour | Kathryn Breakwell | 767 | 2.0 | −1.2 | |
| Animal Justice | Josh Segrave | 730 | 1.9 | +1.9 | |
| Justice | Patricia Anne Wicks | 709 | 1.8 | +1.8 | |
| Freedom | Mark Strother | 663 | 1.7 | +1.7 | |
| Transport Matters | Trevor Russell Collins | 360 | 0.9 | +0.9 | |
| New Democrats | Prashant Tandon | 319 | 0.8 | +0.8 | |
| Health Australia | Karen Hogan | 260 | 0.7 | +0.7 | |
| Independent | Patrizia Barcatta | 213 | 0.6 | +0.6 | |
| Independent | Heni Cazlynn Kwan | 45 | 0.1 | +0.1 | |
| Total formal votes | 38,603 | 90.3 | −2.9 | ||
| Informal votes | 4,156 | 9.7 | +2.9 | ||
| Turnout | 42,759 | 85.6 | +4.5 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Tim Pallas | 23,517 | 60.9 | −2.4 | |
| Liberal | Mia Shaw | 15,086 | 39.1 | +2.4 | |
| Labor hold | Swing | −2.4 | |||
Key events
[edit]- 6 January 2025 − Tim Pallas resigns
- 13 January 2025 − Close of electoral roll
- 23 January 2025 – Candidate nominations close for registered parties
- 24 January 2025 – Candidate nominations close for independents
- 29 January 2025 − Early voting begins
- 8 February 2025 − Polling day
Candidates
[edit]Candidates are listed in the order they appeared on the ballot.[10]
| Party | Candidate | Background | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greens | Rifai A. Raheem | Community activist and union organiser[11] | |
| Liberal | Steve Murphy | Real estate agent and former police officer | |
| Family First | Matt Emerson | Community volunteer and small business IT professional | |
| Legalise Cannabis | Xavier Menta | Horticulturist[12] | |
| Independent | Munish Joshi | ||
| Victorian Socialists | Sue Munro | Community activist and agency-enrolled nurse | |
| Animal Justice | Shohre Mansouri Jajaee | Software engineer and charity worker[13] | |
| Independent | Kodei Mulcahy | Community activist and childcare educator[14] | |
| Independent | Aidan McLindon | Mayor of Whittlesea and former Queensland MP | |
| Independent | Paul Hopper | Candidate for Werribee in 2022 and co-founder of unregistered West Party[15][16] | |
| Labor | John Lister | Teacher and CFA volunteer firefighter | |
| Independent | Aijaz Moinuddin | Founder of unregistered United People's Party[17][18] | |
Labor
[edit]Labor announced on 23 December 2024 that John Lister, a local school teacher and Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteer firefighter, would be its candidate for the by-election.[19]
Liberal
[edit]On 22 December 2024, the Liberal Party publicly confirmed that they indicated to contest the by-election.[20] On 11 January 2025, the party announced its candidate would be Steve Murphy, a real estate agent and former police officer who resides in Essendon West.[21][22]
Others
[edit]The Victorian Greens announced on 10 January 2025 that Rifai A. Raheem, a community activist and union organiser, would be its candidate.[11]
How-to-vote cards
[edit]Candidates can provide how-to-vote cards with recommendations for voters on how to preference other parties.[23] Kodei Mulcahy and Paul Hopper did not recommend any preferences, while Aidan McLindon only suggested preferencing Hopper second.[24] Additionally, the Victorian Trades Hall Council registered a how-to-vote card, calling for Liberal candidate Steve Murphy to be preferenced last.[25]
| Candidate | How-to-vote card (read column top down) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRN | LIB | FFP | LCV | Jos. | VS | AJP | Mul. | McL. | Hop. | ALP | Moi. | ||
| Rifai A. Raheem (GRN) | 1 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 7 | ||||
| Steve Murphy (LIB) | 6 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 11 | ||||
| Matt Emerson (FFP) | 12 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 4 | ||||
| Xavier Menta (LCV) | 4 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||||
| Munish Joshi (Ind.) | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 3 | ||||
| Sue Munro (VS) | 2 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | ||||
| Shohre Mansouri Jajaee (AJP) | 5 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||||
| Kodei Mulcahy (Ind.)[26] | 11 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 12 | |||
| Aidan McLindon (Ind.)[27] | 10 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 9 | |||
| Paul Hopper (Ind.)[28] | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | ||
| John Lister (ALP)[29] | 3 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 10 | ||||
| Moinuddin (Ind.)[30] | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 1 | ||||
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Steve Murphy | 12,207 | 28.98 | +3.65 | |
| Labor | John Lister | 12,168 | 28.89 | −16.47 | |
| Independent | Paul Hopper | 6,134 | 14.56 | +8.66 | |
| Greens | Rifai A. Raheem | 3,190 | 7.57 | +0.80 | |
| Victorian Socialists | Sue Munro | 3,008 | 7.14 | +3.54 | |
| Legalise Cannabis | Xavier Menta | 2,316 | 5.50 | +5.50 | |
| Family First | Matt Emerson | 1,827 | 4.34 | +1.84 | |
| Animal Justice | Shohre Mansouri Jajaee | 401 | 0.95 | −0.94 | |
| Independent | Munish Joshi | 352 | 0.84 | +0.84 | |
| Independent | Aidan McLindon | 270 | 0.64 | +0.64 | |
| Independent | Aijaz Moinuddin | 164 | 0.39 | +0.39 | |
| Independent | Kodei Mulcahy | 80 | 0.19 | +0.19 | |
| Total formal votes | 42,117 | 93.34 | +3.06 | ||
| Informal votes | 3,003 | 6.66 | −3.06 | ||
| Turnout | 45,120 | 79.91 | −5.67 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | John Lister | 21,405 | 50.82 | −10.10 | |
| Liberal | Steve Murphy | 20,712 | 49.18 | +10.10 | |
| Labor hold | Swing | −10.10 | |||
References
[edit]- ^ "Over 56,000 enrolled in Werribee District before by-election". Victorian Electoral Commission. 16 January 2025. Archived from the original on 17 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
- ^ a b "Werribee District results". Werribee District by-election. Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC). Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ "Map of Werribee District". Victorian Electoral Boundaries Commission.
- ^ "2021 Werribee (Western Metropolitan), Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- ^ Green, Antony (11 January 2023). "VIC22 – 2-Party Preferred Results and Swings by District". Antony Green's Election Blog. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ VIC 2021 Final Redistribution, ABC News. [Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- ^ Full preference distributions – 2022 State election, Victorian Electoral Commission. [Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- ^ Green, Antony (10 January 2023). "VIC22 – Werribee – Analysis of Preferences". Antony Green's Election Blog. Archived from the original on 18 December 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "Werribee District results". Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "Find Werribee District by-election candidates". Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 24 January 2025. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ a b "Greens announce candidate for Werribee Rifai A. Raheem". Victorian Greens. 10 January 2025. Archived from the original on 10 January 2025. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
- ^ Kennedy, Jaidyn (14 January 2025). "Candidates named for by-election". Star Weekly. Archived from the original on 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
- ^ Green, Anthony (16 January 2025). "Werribee by-election 2025". ABC News. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
- ^ "Twelve Candidates, One Seat: The Fight for Werribee Heats Up!". Wyndham TV. 24 January 2025. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
- ^ Lucas, Cade (2 December 2024). "New party to challenge Labor". Star Weekly. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- ^ Eddie, Rachel; Rooney, Kieran (17 December 2024). "With state byelections looming, there is no clear successor to Pallas". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 24 December 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
- ^ "Werribee By-elections 2025 - Aijaz For Werribee". United People's Party. Archived from the original on 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
- ^ "Munish Joshi, Aijaz Moinuddin candidates in Feb 8 Werribee by-election". Bharat Times. 31 January 2025. Archived from the original on 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ^ Clarke, Mitch (23 December 2024). "John Lister named as Labor's Werribee candidate". Geelong Advertiser. Archived from the original on 23 December 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
- ^ "Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto apologises to Moira Deeming, calls new vote". ABC News. 22 December 2024. Archived from the original on 22 December 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
Since last Friday's meeting it has become clear that there is now a definite absolute majority of my colleagues who want this issue resolved with her readmission so that we can collectively put this behind us and concentrate on the Prahran and Werribee by-elections and holding the Allan Labor Government to account.
- ^ Yu, Andi (11 January 2025). "Victorian Liberal party announces real estate agent as candidate for Werribee by-election". ABC News. Archived from the original on 11 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
- ^ Cook, Henrietta (11 January 2025). "Liberals unveil Werribee candidate ahead of crucial byelection". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 30 January 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ^ "How-to-vote card guidelines". Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 19 January 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ^ "Werribee District how-to-vote cards". Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ^ "On your ballot paper, number every box in order of your preference, and put Liberal Steve Murphy LAST" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ^ "Vote 1 Kodei Mulcahy" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ^ "Where's McLindon?" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ^ "VOTE 1 PAUL HOPPER" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ^ "How to vote for John Lister" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
- ^ "Vote 1 MOINUDDIN Aijaz in Two Easy Steps" (PDF). Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
