Raja Reddy is set to return to the Victorian state election contest, with the Liberals selecting the Wyndham community figure to challenge Labor MP Mathew Hilakari in Point Cook at November’s election.
A local news outlet Wyndham TV reported on Saturday that Reddy had been chosen as the Liberal candidate for the western Melbourne seat. The Victorian Liberal Party had not published a formal candidate announcement for Point Cook by late Saturday, so Reddy’s selection is being reported on the basis of that confirmation. Formal nominations with the Victorian Electoral Commission do not open until November.
The contest gives Reddy another shot at state parliament four years after he stood for the Liberals in Laverton. At the 2022 election, he received 22.2 per cent of the primary vote and 31.6 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis against Labor’s Sarah Connolly.
He returned to the ballot box at the 2024 Wyndham City Council election, contesting Featherbrook Ward. Reddy polled 1,723 first preferences, or 14.2 per cent, in a nine-candidate field. Jasmine Hill, who began with 35.26 per cent of first preferences, was eventually elected.
Reddy is a registered migration agent and operates through Elixir Immigration and Educational Consulting Services. The federal migration agents register lists Raja Ramesh Reddy, MARN 1804195, as currently registered. He is also known locally through Wyndham Diwali, where he has served as president.
His candidacy puts him up against Hilakari, who entered Parliament at the 2022 election and is now Parliamentary Secretary for Education. Hilakari remains the sitting Labor member for Point Cook.
Point Cook was first contested in its current form at the 2022 election following Victoria’s electoral redistribution. The VEC records Labor as having held the district since its creation.
Hilakari won the seat with 40.04 per cent of the primary vote, while Liberal candidate Angela Newhouse received 24.68 per cent. After preferences, Labor finished on 58.34 per cent against the Liberals’ 41.66 per cent, giving Hilakari a margin of about 8.3 percentage points.
ABC election analysis calculated a 4.4-point two-party swing towards the Liberals compared with the notional result on the redistributed boundaries. Labor’s primary vote was down 9.7 points on that comparison. Because Point Cook was a newly created district, those swings were calculated against reconstructed previous-election figures rather than an earlier election fought under the same electorate boundaries.
That distinction is important. Point Cook remains a Labor-held seat and an 8.3-point margin is substantial, but the 2022 result also means the Liberals do not enter the campaign from the position they once faced across much of Melbourne’s west.
The party will also look to the February 2025 Werribee by-election, elsewhere in Wyndham, where Labor came close to losing a seat it had held comfortably. John Lister retained Werribee for Labor with 50.82 per cent after preferences against Liberal Steve Murphy’s 49.18 per cent. By-election results cannot simply be transferred to a general election or another electorate, but the result showed the Liberals can compete strongly in parts of Melbourne’s west under the right conditions.
Point Cook also presents a distinctive demographic contest. According to the 2021 Census, 14.9 per cent of residents of the Point Cook suburb were born in India, compared with 4 per cent across Victoria. More than 70 per cent of Point Cook residents had both parents born overseas, while Hinduism was reported as the religion of 16.1 per cent of the suburb’s population. Those figures relate to the suburb rather than the entire state electorate, which extends beyond Point Cook itself.
Reddy’s background in migration services and community organisations therefore gives the Liberals a candidate already known within sections of Wyndham’s Indian and migrant communities. Hilakari, however, goes into the campaign with the advantages of incumbency and a Labor organisation that has represented the district since it was created.
The Labor MP has spent much of his first term pointing to infrastructure and service investment across the electorate, including the Point Cook Community Hospital, the expansion of Werribee Mercy Hospital’s emergency department, a new Point Cook police station, upgrades to Point Cook Road and Central Avenue, work at Williams Landing station and school projects.
For the Liberals, the task is straightforward but difficult: they need to turn the movement recorded in 2022 into an electoral swing of more than eight points.
For Labor, Reddy’s selection means Point Cook will not be a seat it can take entirely for granted.
Victoria’s state election will be held on Saturday, November 28.
Support Independent Community Journalism
Dear Reader,The Indian Sun exists for one reason: to tell stories that might otherwise go unheard.
We report on local councils, state politics, small businesses and cultural festivals. We focus on the Indian diaspora and the wider multicultural community with care, balance and accountability. We publish in print and online, send regular newsletters and produce video content. We also run media training programs to help community organisations share their own stories.
We operate independently.
Community journalism does not have the backing of large media corporations. Advertising revenue fluctuates. Platform algorithms change. Costs continue to rise. Yet the need for credible, grounded reporting in a multicultural Australia has never been greater.
When you support The Indian Sun, you support:
• Independent reporting on issues affecting migrant communities
• Coverage of local and state decisions that shape daily life
• A platform for small businesses and community groups
• Media training that builds skills within the community
• Journalism accountable to readers
We cannot cover everything, but we work to cover what matters.
If you value thoughtful reporting that reflects Australia’s diversity, we invite you to contribute. Every donation helps us maintain the quality and consistency of our work.
Please consider making a contribution today.
Thank you for your support.
The Indian Sun Team
