A host of marginal seats across metropolitan Melbourne could decide the outcome of the May 3 federal election, but the western suburbs seat of Fraser isn’t among them.
Held by Labor’s Dr Daniel Mulino by a margin of more than 16 per cent, the seat covering all of of the Maribyrnong council area, most of Brimbank, and following a redistribution, some northern parts of Hobsons Bay, is one of the Albanese government’s safest, immune to even a historic swing against it.
That hasn’t stopped five candidates from across the political spectrum lining up to take on Dr Mulino in the seat named after for Liberal Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser and which was only created in 2018.
The Greens Huong Truong, the Liberal Party’s Satish Patel, Jasmin Duff of the Victoria Socialists, Rob Rancie of Family first and One Nation’s George Rozario will join Dr Mulino on the ballot on May 3.
Buoyed by their strong performances in Footscray and Maribyrnong at both the last state and council elections, the Greens campaign has been particularly enthusiastic, with a $4 million dollar public art gallery at the Footscray Community Arts Centre their bigges proposal so far.
The Victoria Socialists also performed strongly in Footscray at the 2022 state election and their candidate Jasmine Duff has been joined by the party’s senate candidate, affordable housing advocate and Tik Tok star, Jordan van den Lam, aka Purple Pingers, on the campaign trial.
Like the Greens, the Victoria Socialists are benefiting from the continued gentrification of Footscray and the addition of inner-west suburbs like Spotswood and Yarraville from neighbouring Gellibrand.
Further west in the the old industrial suburbs around Braybrook, Sunshine and St Albans, the Greens and Victoria Socialists are likely to be less of a threat to Labor, which is committing $2 billion to the redevelopment of Sunshine Station, by far the biggest election promise in the seat so far.
The Sunshine Station funding is opposed by the Liberal Party, making the job of its candidate, Satish Patel, even harder.
A candidate for Wyndham council at last year’s municipal elections, Mr Patel was only announced as Liberal candidate for Fraser on April 7, more than a week after the election was called.
The delay was caused by the party’s previous candidate, Luan Walker, having to stand down in March after being found in breach of Section 44 of the constitution by having dual Vietnamese citizenship.
