ALP 13.4%
Incumbent MP
Melissa Horne, since 2018.
Geography
Western Melbourne. Williamstown covers areas near Port Phillip Bay to the west of the Melbourne CBD. Williamstown covers most of Hobsons Bay council area and a small southern part of the City of Maribyrnong, covering the suburbs of Altona, Altona North, Brooklyn, Newport, Seaholme, South Kingsville, Spotswood, Williamstown and Williamstown 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.
Noonan retired in 2018, and was succeeded by Labor candidate Melissa Horne. Horne was re-elected in 2022.
- Gill Gannon (West Party)
- Ben Hocking (Greens)
- Melissa Horne (Labor)
- Paul Lindemann (Liberal)
- Oskar Martin (Victorian Socialists)
Assessment
Labor has a large margin here and should be okay.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Melissa Horne | Labor | 16,173 | 41.5 | -8.2 |
| Daria Kellander | Liberal | 10,928 | 28.0 | +7.7 |
| Suzette Rodoreda | Greens | 6,013 | 15.4 | +2.1 |
| Rochelle Fisher | Democratic Labour | 1,632 | 4.2 | +4.2 |
| Julien Q. Macandili | Victorian Socialists | 1,528 | 3.9 | +3.9 |
| Patricia Mackevicius | Animal Justice | 1,049 | 2.7 | +0.5 |
| Alexander Ansalone | Freedom Party | 976 | 2.5 | +2.5 |
| Joshua Mosely | Family First | 675 | 1.7 | +1.7 |
| Informal | 1,878 | 4.6 |
2022 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Melissa Horne | Labor | 24,726 | 63.4 | -6.5 |
| Daria Kellander | Liberal | 14,248 | 36.6 | +6.5 |
Booths have been divided into three areas: north-east, south-east and west.
Labor won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in all three areas, ranging from 62.8% in the south-east to 67.1% in the north-east.
The Greens came third, with a primary vote ranging from 14.3% in the west to 21.5% in the north-east.
| Voter group | GRN prim | ALP 2PP | Total votes | % of votes |
| West | 14.3 | 63.7 | 5,842 | 15.0 |
| North-East | 21.5 | 67.1 | 4,255 | 10.9 |
| South-East | 18.7 | 62.8 | 3,615 | 9.3 |
| Pre-poll | 13.6 | 61.6 | 20,315 | 52.0 |
| Other votes | 16.3 | 61.6 | 5,038 | 12.9 |
Election results in Williamstown at the 2022 Victorian state election
Toggle between two-party-preferred votes and primary votes for Labor, the Liberal Party and the Greens.
This seat has gone under some serious gentrification and it could end up being a three way horse race where the Greens and Liberals both improve.
The Kingsville South booth ttp doesn’t look correct, I can’t see the ttp being 52.3/47.8 where Labor gets a primary vote of 42.7%, Greens get 22.2% and Liberals get 21.4%. The ttp should more be like 66.9%/33.1% or something like that.
The opening of the westgate tunnel might worsen the already bad air quality here and induce increased heavy vehicle traffic on local roads (moreso in Footscray next door I think but still), could be ripe for the right IND to exploit, Liberal primary might be inflated due to a popular local councillor running last time.
A Teal could win here if it becomes a ALP V TEAL contest. Last time there were Anti-Lockdown swings in Altona North the working class parts. I think that will reverse a bit. In the Federal election this seat especially poorer areas had a big swing to Labor. There were also swings around Maddox Road due to Level Crossing controversy.
I dont think Gentrification will benefit the current direction of the Libs as this seat is very Secular.