ALP 16.5%
Incumbent MP
Wade Noonan, since 2007.
Geography
Western Melbourne. Williamstown covers areas near Port Phillip Bay to the west of the Melbourne CBD. Williamstown covers eastern parts of Hobsons Bay council area and a small southern part of the City of Maribyrnong, covering the suburbs of Brooklyn, Kingsville, Newport, Seddon, South Kingsville, Spotswood, Williamstown, Williamstown North, Yarraville and parts of Altona and Altona North.
History
Williamstown has existed as an electoral district in the Victorian Legislative Assembly since the Assembly first sat in 1856. It has been held by the ALP continuously for over a century. In recent decades the seat has been held by two Labor Premiers.
The seat was held by a series of unaffiliated members of Parliament in the 19th century before the development of the modern political party. The seat’s MP, William Carter, became a member of the Labor Party in 1891, holding the seat until 1894.
Williamstown was won in 1894 by James Styles as a Labor member. He held the seat until 1900. He later served as a Protectionist Senator from 1901 until his defeat in 1906.
Liberal MP Alexander Ramsay held the seat for two terms from 1900 to 1904, when the Labor Party’s John Lemmon regained the seat. Lemmon held the seat for over half a century, retiring in 1955. William Floyd held the seat from 1955 until 1973. Gordon Stirling held the seat from 1973 until 1988.
Williamstown was won in 1988 by Joan Kirner, a Labor government minister who had been an MLC for Melbourne West province since 1982. Kirner became Premier of Victoria in 1990, and served in the role until her defeat at the 1992 election. She held the seat of Williamstown until her resignation in 1994.
The 1994 by-election was won by Steve Bracks, who had previously served as an advisor to Premiers John Cain and Joan Kirner. Bracks quickly moved to the Opposition frontbench, becoming Shadow Treasurer in 1996. He was elected Labor leader in early 1999 and unexpectedly won the 1999 election, forming a minority government with the support of independent MPs. Bracks won a second term in 2002 and a third in 2006. Bracks resigned as Premier and Member for Williamstown in July 2007.
The 2007 Williamstown by-election was won by Labor candidate Wade Noonan. Noonan was re-elected in 2010 and 2014.
Candidates
Sitting Labor MP Wade Noonan is not running for re-election.
- Melissa Horne (Labor)
- Sam Long (Greens)
- Virginia Saint-James (Animal Justice)
- Lisa Bentley (Independent)
- Peter Hemphill (Independent)
- Pallavee Joshi (Liberal)
Assessment
Williamstown is a safe Labor seat.
2014 result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Wade Noonan | Labor | 18,417 | 44.6 | -0.3 |
| Alan Shea | Liberal | 11,569 | 28.0 | -2.7 |
| Simon Crawford | Greens | 8,547 | 20.7 | -1.9 |
| Libby Krepp | Voice For The West | 2,268 | 5.5 | +5.5 |
| Khalil Wehbe | Independent | 457 | 1.1 | +1.1 |
| Informal | 2,175 | 5.0 |
2014 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Wade Noonan | Labor | 27,453 | 66.5 | +3.3 |
| Alan Shea | Liberal | 13,805 | 33.5 | -3.3 |
Booth breakdown
Booths in Williamstown have been divided into four areas: central, north, south and west.
Labor won a large majority of the two-party-preferred vote in all four areas, ranging from 62.4% in the south to 71.1% in the north.
The Greens primary vote ranged from 10.9% in the west to 28.9% in the north.
| Voter group | GRN prim % | ALP 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| North | 28.9 | 71.1 | 8,883 | 21.5 |
| South | 18.5 | 62.4 | 6,848 | 16.6 |
| West | 10.9 | 69.7 | 5,470 | 13.3 |
| Central | 21.8 | 67.5 | 5,407 | 13.1 |
| Other votes | 17.6 | 64.5 | 5,250 | 12.7 |
| Pre-poll | 21.4 | 63.7 | 9,400 | 22.8 |
Election results in Williamstown at the 2014 Victorian state election
Toggle between two-party-preferred votes and Greens primary votes.
I am surprised that the Green primary vote is not higher around Williamstown. Or is it balanced off by a higher Liberal vote?
It’s balanced by the libs getting in the low to mid 30s primary in Williamstown itself.
Independent Lisa Bentley is out of the blocks early. Plenty of prominent signage, far more than Horne so far.
Makes me wonder if she has any substantial resourcing behind her – Labor’s vote may ease off due to the incumbent retiring, and Sky Rail in the commercial centre of Williamstown may affect the Labor vote
Where are Bentley`s preferences being directed?
They could be critical as to second and third place, unless she preferences the ALP.
Bentley will preference the Liberals, I believe she nominated for the Liberal preselection, but lost.
Peter Hemphill I believe is also preferencing the Libs.
Hemphill is preferencing Greens actually, which will make things interesting. I see him taking votes from Labor and Liberal, which could lead to some really interesting 2 party-preferred outcomes if the Greens get preferences from Hemphill…