Victoria’s hot seats LIVE updates: Getting to know Kooyong’s other candidates; Inside the teal campaign headquarters

Well, I’ve somewhat recovered from the craziness of Kooyong last week – though I suspect it’s not the last of it as we sprint together towards the finish line.

Here’s a quick round-up of Kooyong news from over the long weekend.

Both Monique Ryan and Amelia Hamer attended Anzac Day services on Friday. A reader sent me this photo – unimpressed by Hamer’s use of a campaign card on the wreath.

The Liberal camp points out Ryan also had a sizeable card on her wreath (albeit, sans campaign headshot).

It’s not hard to keep tabs on what Hamer’s been up to: she dutifully documents all appearances on Instagram.

A quick scroll through her socials shows she spent time with the Young Liberals (who are helping her campaign) at the Tower Hotel in Hawthorn – now something of a campaign hub, thanks to the gigantic anti-Monique Ryan placards plastered on the outside.

I’m told you can even buy matching stubby holders from behind the counter – featuring the infamous “77 per cent vote with the Greens” attack line (which I previously unpacked here as well as the phrase, “Monique, please DO NOT take this!”

If you know, you know. A little bird was generous enough to gift me one.

On Sunday morning, Hamer was unmissable, sitting prominently behind Opposition Leader Peter Dutton at his campaign rally in Melton.

Later that day, she appeared at a girl’s footy game (the Kew Rovers) at Stradbroke Park in Kew East and was also seen manning the bar at the Hawthorn Citizens Junior Football Club season launch.

Meanwhile, Ryan seemed largely focused on pre-polling and doorknocking, according to her campaign team. She was also busy rattling the tin.

On Saturday, an email emerged from Ryan’s office seeking urgent donations for a final advertising push, warning that the race could come down to just 200 votes.

In an email titled, “This is my final financial ask”, Ryan described her first week at pre-polling centres as facing “a scale of attack I never thought possible from groups like Advance Australia, Australians for Prosperity and Better Australia”.

She also noted the appearances of right-wing agitators at two forums she attended last week and “Repeal the Teals” campaigners at pre-polling.

“Co-ordinated, well-funded, and designed to mislead voters in the final stretch,” the email read.

“These attacks aren’t just coming from the Liberal Party. They’re coming from a powerful conservative ecosystem. I never wanted to have to make this final financial ask. But I need to.”

She urged supporters to help raise $20,000 within days to fund critical digital advertising campaigns – aiming to “cut through the noise, reach undecided voters, and tell them the truth”.

“We’re close – and with your help, we can finish strong.”

Ryan did have time out for some footy it seems. She was spotted in Carlton colours in the members’ area at the MCG on Sunday, to see the Blues overpower the Cats.

Believe it or not, there are other candidates running in Goldstein besides independent teal MP Zoe Daniel and Liberal Tim Wilson.

While Daniel and Wilson dominate the corflutes and billboards around the electorate, there are actually five other candidates contesting the seat: Nildhara Gadani for Labor, Vicki Jane Williams for Trumpet of Patriots, Alana Galli-McRostie for the Greens, Leon Gardiner for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and David Segal for the Libertarians.

I contacted all of them to ask five quick questions, including why they were running in what is clearly a two-horse race and what their key policies are.

You can see the answers, for those who provided them, in full below, but turning first to Labor’s candidate, Gadani.

In 2022, Labor won 11 per cent of the first-preference vote in Goldstein with a different candidate, and newcomer Gadani maintains she’s in with a chance.

She says Goldstein is a “three-horse race” and she is playing to win, offering a “real, community-focused objective”.

For Gadani, the key issue that isn’t getting enough attention this campaign is early learning.

She has a background in early childhood education and says it’s an area that “shapes our future but is often overlooked”.

Gadani is a keen cricketer and is multi-lingual speaking English, Hindi, Gujarati and Sanskrit, and understanding Punjabi, Urdu, and Fijian Hindi.

Galli-McRostie is contesting the seat for the Greens for a second time. She won 7.83 per cent of first-preference votes last time.

She says “the system is cooked” when it comes to housing, an area that needs to be prioritised.

She says Daniel is “not pushing hard enough”, and Labor “needs a serious shove”, however the Greens will preference Daniel.

“I absolutely do not want to see Peter Dutton anywhere near the prime minister’s office,” she says.

Galli-McRostie worked as a roulette croupier at Crown when she was 19 and recalls people placing bets they couldn’t afford.

“I saw how fast people unravel. I saw the way the house always wins,” she says. “That job made me realise how rigged so many systems are – not just gambling.”

Running for the first time in Goldstein is the Clive Palmer-funded Trumpet of Patriots, with the candidate a self-described “former Firbank girl” and property development executive Vicki Jane Williams.

Surprisingly, Williams has a few things in common with the Greens: she believes housing is the biggest overlooked issue in the election and describes herself as “solar-powered” after a period living off the grid in Magnetic Island.

Sadly, I’m unable to bring you any information on Segal and Gardiner as neither responded.

As I walked through the car park towards the Gloria Pyke Netball Complex in Dandenong on Saturday, I bumped into local mayor Jim Memeti, who was draped in gold mayoral chains and robes.

“Looking for Zahid?” he asked with a big smile. Memeti was due to make the opening address at a Bengali New Year celebration, and showed me a piece of paper with the notable attendees scheduled to attend – including Liberal candidate Zahid Safi.

It was the same list I had received earlier in the week, stating both main candidates for Bruce would come together to celebrate the cultural event, one filled with music, dance, food and bright-patterned clothes.

But Memeti had to make a last-minute change to his speech after it became apparent the Liberal candidate was a no-show.

“I would like to welcome our distinguished guests,” he said, reading only the names of people sitting in the front row – Labor MP Julian Hill and Victorian Labor MPs Gabrielle Williams and Eden Foster.

Jason Wood, the Liberal member and candidate for the seat of La Trobe, arrived towards the end of Memeti’s speech and took a seat next to the other politicians in the same hall where he and Safi had been heckled at the start of the campaign.

Wood was introduced as “one of the federal members who always raise their voice for the community of Bangladesh”.

“Can I just congratulate the emcee on his jacket; that is a magnificent jacket,” Wood told the crowd as he took the stage. “This is what I love about our multicultural community. You bring so much colour, light, dance and entertainment to Australia.”

Next, Hill’s speech praised the Bengali community and spruiked a $25 million announcement he had made with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to support 600 community schools to teach 84 languages.

“Of course there is an election on, we’re out campaigning federally, but I love this event,” Hill said. “I’ve been coming for eight, nine years and I’m always appreciative that the speeches are scheduled around lunchtime, because Bangladeshi food is the absolute best.”

After the speeches, the group of politicians were adorned with yellow and red scarves and fresh flowers and photographed with girls dressed in bright colours.

On the sidelines, Wood told The Age he had recommended that Safi participate in media interviews, to no avail, but said the Liberals remained confident they could win the seat and praised Safi.

“I think he’s a fantastic candidate. He’s a first-class person,” he said. “I’ve known him for a number of years and I think he’s a great guy and I think he’d make a great member of parliament.”

This blog has revealed numerous issues around Safi’s campaign in recent weeks, including his campaign manager’s sexist online comments, which later saw the manager’s resignation from the party, as well as Safi and his wife’s NDIS businesses that use fake reviews and outdated addresses.

On Saturday, the Herald Sun published an article questioning Safi’s LinkedIn profile that lists a Monash University master’s degree, after the university confirmed he did not graduate.

In a response quoted by the Herald Sun, the Liberal Party said Safi had misplaced the login details for his LinkedIn account and could not make updates after he dropped out of the course.

Wood said the media coverage about Safi had been unfair, but he did not directly address the allegations against him.

“Sometimes there’s explanations for things,” he said.

At the other end of the hall, Hill was standing next to the smorgasbord serving goat, fish and chicken biriyanis and raising money for the local community.

Later on Saturday, Safi posted photographs on social media of him speaking with voters at the Dandenong pre-polling booth.

When I arrived there a little time later, he had gone, but the car park was full as locals joined the record number of Australians voting early this election. There were at least a dozen Liberal Party volunteers, by far the highest number from any party. Two blue-shirted volunteers were stationed at the roadside entrance, excitedly waiving corflutes.

Labor MP Clare O’Neil was also at the booth, helping hand out how-to-vote cards for Hill, darting between voters while wearing joggers and a suit jacket. O’Neil said Safi had been at the booth moments before The Age arrived. This was also confirmed by Greens candidate Rhonda Garad, who was in attendance.

O’Neil said she had never seen anything like the Liberals’ preselection of Safi, which she said was “hugely embarrassing” for the party.

“Are the Liberals really wanting the people in this community to vote for someone who won’t front up and do a simple interview with a journalist?” she said. “How’s this guy think he’s going to represent this community in parliament if he can’t speak to a journalist?

“I’ve never seen anything like this local Liberal campaign, where they actually can’t produce the candidate for fear he might say the wrong thing.

“You’ve got to elect people to parliament who can stand up for themselves and stand up for their community and clearly articulate why they are running and what they offer. He was here before. You arrived and he immediately left.”

O’Neil said the campaign in Bruce reflected the “broadly chaotic nature of the Liberal campaign” but denied she was complacent about a Labor victory.

“Any of us who went through the 2019 election know election campaigns are different to how they were before. I don’t believe any published opinion poll that I’ve ever read.”

Garad said Hill looked like he was already celebrating – but she wanted to debate him over Labor’s record on Gaza, which she and Muslim Votes Matter are campaigning on as a key election issue.

One Nation candidate Bianca Colecchia was also at the booth, and said she was encouraged by recent polling showing the minor party’s support is growing.

Our colleagues Paul Sakkal and Cindy Yin have just published a very interesting piece on the Kooyong campaign, here’s the top of it, including the video at the centre of the story:

Volunteers wearing Monique Ryan campaign T-shirts have been captured on video saying a community organisation, which has historical links to the Chinese Communist Party’s foreign influence operation, told them to vote for the teal MP.

In the footage, a woman says the instruction came from Ji Jianmin, who is the president of the Hubei Association, an organisation representing people from the Chinese province that has also been accused of working with the United Front Department, a Chinese government agency that advances CCP interests internationally.

Australia had a major reckoning with allegations of Chinese influence operations late last decade, prompting Malcolm Turnbull’s government to introduce foreign interference laws and making MPs more cautious about working with diaspora groups linked to foreign powers.

Ji’s alleged endorsement of Ryan and the MP’s decision to attend an event hosted by another one of his organisations earlier this month raise questions about Beijing’s ongoing interest in Australia’s election after Liberal figures, including Peter Dutton, were forced to distance themselves from a CCP-linked figure they were photographed with in February.

In a video taken by Tharini Rouwette, who runs a group called COMPELL that advances multiculturalism in Australian politics, and uploaded to a Kooyong community Facebook group on April 22, two people wearing Ryan T-shirts claim Ji told them to vote for Ryan.

“The Hubei Association President Ji Jianmin, how should I say this, he required us Chinese diaspora to support her,” says one of the Ryan volunteers, whose name is given only as Jessica.

Read the full story here.

Updated: This post has been update with footage of the incident. Scroll down to view the video.

A dispute over signage between a Labor staffer volunteering for Wills MP Peter Khalil and a Muslim Votes Matter volunteer at a pre-polling station in Brunswick led to police being called and the activist being questioned by officers.

The dispute, along with an argument between minor party volunteers, prompted the Australian Electoral Commission on Saturday to note “physical and verbal violence” at the pre-poll booth and to warn candidates and their teams to treat each other with respect.

“There have been incidents of physical and verbal violence this week between campaign workers and between campaign workers and voters,” the AEC’s divisional returning officer for Wills, Ashley Walker, said in an email sent to all candidates late on Saturday night.

“Party and campaign workers hold strong beliefs, are passionate and are trying their best for you, the candidates, but we ask that interactions with each other and with the public [are] done with respect,” Walker wrote.

“If you wish to make a complaint about another party worker for behavioural conduct not relating to electoral laws, it is best to contact the relevant party directly. Where this involves violence, whether physical or verbal, I strongly advise that you contact Victoria Police.”

On Saturday, Montaser el-Wazani joined other Muslim Votes Matter volunteers to unveil a sign at the Davies Street pre-poll booth in Brunswick.

Muslim Votes Matter is campaigning against Labor’s Khalil in Wills and has endorsed Greens candidate Samantha Ratnam.

The sign says “Peter Khalil went on a Zionist lobby trip”. It refers to a trip Khalil took to Israel (before he was elected as an MP) organised by the Australia-Israel Leadership Forum.

The sign is authorised by Muslim Votes Matters and has been displayed across the electorate, appearing last week outside mosques in Glenroy and Fawkner before Friday prayers.

On Saturday, however, when it was put up across the road from the polling station, a One Nation van was parked in front of the sign.

When the Muslim Votes Matter volunteers moved the sign, a dispute unfolded between a Labor staffer and el-Wazani.

Khalil said police were called “because there was an assault”, while Greens volunteers and others handing out how-to-vote cards said there was no physical contact, only an argument.

The Labor staffer involved was Lachlan Hinds, listed on LinkedIn as a media and policy adviser in federal parliament. He could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Palestinian-born el-Wazani said Victoria Police had attended because “the Labor Party called them”.

“There had been a minor incident where a young man associated with the Labor Party targeted our Palestinian banner. He confronted us, trying to control the area and limit our presence,” he said.

“After a brief confrontation, he contacted police. There was no physical assault or abuse – it was just a verbal confrontation. Many people witnessed the scene. The young man went away and we thought that was the end of it.”

“The claims of assault and abuse were exaggerated by the Labor Party member to justify police involvement. Police approached me and took me into a laneway and questioned me for about 10 minutes. I told them what had happened and nobody was assaulted.”

The Age obtained CCTV from Davies Street that a spokeswoman for Khalil confirmed showed the incident unfolding. While the footage is grainy, it clearly shows a Labor sign that Hinds is carrying being pushed over, and Hinds then bending to pick up the sign before walking on. Asked if he had pushed over the sign, el-Wazani said: “I don’t think really I did that.”

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said police had attended the Davies Street voting booth about midday on Saturday “following reports of an assault”.

“Officers spoke to both people involved who gave a different version of events. There were no independent witnesses and no injuries thus no official report was made,” the police spokeswoman said.

Western Australian senator Fatima Payman, who quit Labor in 2024 citing irreconcilable differences between the ALP’s stance on Palestine and her views, was at the Brunswick polling station on Saturday and posted a video showing police talking to both Hinds and el-Wazani.

“We see cops come in who were called by Peter Khalil and Labor staffers to essentially take down a sign that they didn’t like. I mean, so much for freaking democracy,” Payman says.

“There was no threat. There was nothing that warranted police to be involved. These were just pro-Palestinian activists who wanted their sign up.”

On Monday, el-Wazani returned with the sign, but no altercations occurred while The Age was present.

In the few short weeks covering Bruce, I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on petrol (not to mention tolls) making the commute from the city each day.

Public transport through the electorate is woefully inadequate, so the car remains the key way people get around.

This might explain why Liberal candidate Zahid Safi has been leaning so heavily on the party’s promise to cut the fuel excise in half for 12 months, reducing petrol prices by 25 cents a litre.

Safi has made a habit of posting videos and photos from the bowser, most recently with deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley, claiming the policy will have “immediate cost of living relief…saving the average household up to $1500 a year on fuel.”

Blue corflutes are sprinkled around the streets of Bruce, promoting the policy too: “Every litre, 25c cheaper by voting for the Liberals.”

So, I decided to see if the promised fuel saving was having the desired impact on voters.

I drove to a petrol station in Endeavour Hills early one weekday last week, arriving just before 8am hoping to catch the peak hour commuters, to inquire about the impact of the Liberal’s key policy.

Most said they hadn’t heard of it, but in any event, said 25 cents per litre saved wouldn’t influence their vote.

Rachel Walter from Endeavour Hills said she had “vaguely” heard of the Liberal party’s petrol policy but when asked whether this would shift her vote, she said: “Not for me.”

“I think there are bigger issues,” she said. “The cost of everything has gone up. You can’t even buy something for five bucks at the shop anymore. Feeding a family is really hard.”

Walter said she hadn’t decided who to vote for yet, but had typically voted Labor. “I’ll have to speak with my husband,” she said.

A man, who did not want to be named, said the fuel policy had no impact on his vote.

“I voted Labor all my life, they used to be different from Liberals,” he said. “But nowadays, it’s all muddled.”

He said the fuel tax was irrelevant because prices swing so wildly that 25 cents wouldn’t make a major difference, and issues like crime, cost of living and Gaza were more important to him.

“I’m a peace activist,” he said. “They both seem to be backing the wrong horse. Neither seem to be interested in peace.”

He said there needed to be tougher penalties for crime, which he said was getting worse in the area.

The man, who was from Somali background, was still an undecided voter but said he could not back Dutton.

“He made inflammatory comments in 2018,” he said. “Everybody has got their bad eggs, but the community remembers those words. He’s also a big ally of Israel. At the end of the day, one death is too much, but you have 60-70,000 people who have died.

“For me, Dutton is unvote-able,” he said. “But Albanese is not much better.”

Reza Hussain, who was having his first coffee and still waking up, said he had always voted Labor but “might” consider switching to Liberal over the petrol cut, if it was combined with other cost-of-living measures.

“Even two cents or three cents makes a difference,” he says. “I met Julian Hill personally, he’s a good guy, speaks well.”

Vanessa Johnson had a “few seconds” to speak, while she filled up on her way to work as a teacher in Noble Park. Johnson was aware of the Liberal’s fuel policy but said it wouldn’t change her decision to vote Greens.

“As a 25-year-old, my HECS debt is through the roof, I work full-time as a teacher, whilst also doing my masters, whilst also working one day as a barista and I still can’t afford shit,” she said, laughing. “I know they can’t get very far but I always vote Green.”

She grew up in Berwick and said her friends vote Greens too, over frustration with the major party’s failure to help her generation.

“I feel like no one is listening to the younger generation,” she said. “Since I’ve been 18, we’ve gone round and round in circles and everything keeps going up and up and up.”

“I would like to start a future, finding a partner, kids and everything, but for me…I can’t imagine how I can afford to have kids and give them a good life.”

Tiernan White said “obviously gas prices would be great lower” but he was unconvinced about the Liberal’s other policies.

The 25-year-old Crown Casino table operator drives from Doveton into the city for work each day, and while fuel is a big cost for him, the policy wouldn’t change his vote.

“What I’ve seen, Peter Dutton does not seem like the correct person to be at the front of Australia at the moment,” he said.

He cited the cost of living and medicine costs being key issues for him.

White was unconvinced Dutton has a “grasp” on the housing crisis, citing the opposition leader’s vast personal property portfolio, and said he was dismayed by his own recent efforts to buy a house.

Siraj Faleer, who was also in a rush while filling up, said he was voting Labor and the Liberal’s fuel policy wouldn’t change his mind.

He said Peter Dutton was a “warrior-type person”. “You can’t depend on him,” he said.

Faleer said Safi was a personal friend. “I know him because my daughter goes to the same class,” he said. “But I can’t vote for him, that’s politics.”

Harvey Norman employee and law student Blaise D’Sylva also hadn’t heard of the policy but it might impact his vote.

“If they were bringing down other costs, definitely,” he said. “Everything’s so expensive.”

Historically he said he’d followed his parents voting Labor, but was considering voting Liberal this time around – mainly due to frustration with former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews’ handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Another man, who didn’t want to be named, said he was on his way to vote early and the petrol policy had no bearing on his vote.

He wanted to avoid both major parties, and planned to vote for Fatima Payman’s Australia Voice party in the Senate and follow the Muslim Votes Matter recommendation in the house.

“I’m Muslim and so vote for Muslim Votes Matters, they have a list,” he said before driving off.

We have arrived. We are in the final week of the 2025 federal election campaign.

With five sleeps to go until election day, our senior reporters are spending as much time as possible on the ground in our four key electorates – Wills, Goldstein, Kooyong and Bruce – for more pre-polling fun and candidates’ final pitches.

There are some last-minute appearances by party leaders expected in the seats too, including Liberal leader Peter Dutton in teal-held Kooyong and Goldstein.

And come Saturday night we’ll be keeping track of the results in these seats and what role they play in the national result and who is voted Prime Minister and government of Australia.