By Charlene Macaulay
The major parties have topped the ballot papers for Wyndham’s three lower house seats, after nominations closed last Friday.
Of the eight candidates contesting Werribee, incumbent Labor MP Tim Pallas scored top billing followed by independents Thanh Nga Ly and Pratibha Sharma, sitting Western Metropolitan MP Rachel Carling-Jenkins, Joe Garra, who is running as an independent, Jay Dessi from the Greens, tram driver and Democratic Labour Party candidate Kathryn Breakwell and the Liberals Gayle Murphy.
A swing of 15.3 per cent is needed to unseat Mr Pallas from Werribee.
In Tarneit, former Wyndham councillor and Liberal candidate Glenn Goodfellow has received the top spot on the ballot as he chases a 14.6 per cent Labor margin.
Mr Goodfellow is one of seven candidates chasing the seat left vacant by Labor’s Telmo Languiller who announced he would not be standing after controversy in 2017 surrounding almost $40,000 of living allowances.
Independent candidates Zulfi Syed, Arnav Sati, Wyndham councillor Aaron An, Harkamal Singh Batth, Beck Sheffield-Brotherton from the Greens and Labor’s Sarah Connolly are also contesting Tarneit.
Over in Altona, five candidates are vying for the seat including incumbent Jill Hennessy, who holds a 12.6 per cent margin.
Ms Hennessy received the fifth position on the ballot, while the Liberals’ Christian Martinu got the first position, followed by Wyndham councillor and independent Tony Hooper, independent candidate Maria Aylward and Emma-Jane Byrne from the Greens.
A list of early polling centres and applications for postal voting – which close 6pm on November 21 – are available on the VEC website: www.vec.vic.gov.au
