Legislative Assembly · District of Point Cook
Mathew Hilakari
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Point Cook›
Point Cook is a Labor-held seat in Melbourne's western growth corridor, created in the 2021 redistribution and first contested in 2022, when Mathew Hilakari won it with 40.0% of first preferences and 58.3% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Angela Newhouse. He is recontesting, and Wikipedia records him as Parliamentary Secretary for Education since 7 August 2026. The 2026 field is six candidates: Hilakari, the Liberals' Raja Reddy, the Greens' Ponraj Krishna Pandi, One Nation's Cameron Reid, the Victorian Socialists' Taylor Laine and the West Party's Mark Grech.
Background
His electorate office is in the Point Cook Town Centre. VVerified — HILAKARI-PARLVICParliament of Victoria, "Mathew Hilakari — Member page"View source
Grew up in Templestowe Lower and was preselected while living in Seaford, relocating after winning preselection. RReported — WIKI-HILAKARIWikipedia, "Mathew Hilakari"View source
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
"Infrastructure improvement, ongoing improvement of public health and education, and a fair society."
What Victorians say matters most
5 poll-led issuesCost of living and crime have ranked 1st or 2nd in every Victorian poll since mid‑2025, with debt and housing close behind — see schema §3 for the polling this grouping is based on (DemosAU, Ipsos Issues Monitor, Roy Morgan). The 0-10 'priorityScore' on each candidate's issue entries is NOT a measure of true importance or an independent ranking of what a candidate actually cares about. It reflects how much detail and specificity exists in what that candidate has actually said publicly on that issue -- a named policy mechanism and a verified voting record score higher than a one-line stated priority, regardless of the issue's real-world weight. Render this distinction in the UI wherever the score appears; do not label it just 'Priority' without the qualifier.
Cost of living
Labor's 2026 platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes a vehicle registration rebate of up to $186, half-price public transport fares from June to December 2026 and free midday electricity from October 2026; nothing is attributed to Hilakari personally.
Crime and community safety
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes the 2025 bail law changes; nothing is attributed to Hilakari personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, is built around the Big Housing Build; nothing is attributed to Hilakari personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, projects operating surpluses of $700 million in 2025-26 and $1 billion in 2026-27; nothing is attributed to Hilakari personally.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Names infrastructure improvement as a main passion.
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $1.04 billion for roads.
Also on the record
6 substance issuesThese don't top “biggest issue” polling, but carry real 2026 policy weight and genuine differences between parties.
Education and training
Names ongoing improvement of public education as a main passion.
Is Parliamentary Secretary for Education from August 2026, per Wikipedia.
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $5.5 billion of new education investment in 2026-27 and the Free TAFE guarantee.
Health and healthcare access
Names ongoing improvement of public health as a main passion.
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $3.9 billion of new health investment in 2026-27.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, targets 65% renewables by 2030 and 95% by 2035; nothing is attributed to Hilakari personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, cites implementation of the Statewide Treaty Act 2025; nothing is attributed to Hilakari personally.
Regional and rural Victoria
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Local & party context
2 fieldsNot scored the way the eleven issues above are — these are fixed facts about the seat and the party, not positions with more or less emphasis behind them.
Wikipedia lists him in the Labor Left. RReported — WIKI-HILAKARIWikipedia, "Mathew Hilakari"View source
As a government backbencher and parliamentary secretary his positions follow Labor's platform; no divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Per the Victorian Electoral Commission's funding guidance (vec.vic.gov.au, accessed 2026-09-29 via search snippets of its independent-candidate and registered-party funding pages), a candidate is eligible for public election funding if they receive at least 4% of first-preference votes in their contest, or are elected. Funding is reimbursed against an audited statement of campaign expenditure, and advance funding must be repaid in full if the threshold is missed.
As the sitting member, Hilakari met the "elected" limb of the test at the 2022 election, so his Point Cook campaign qualified for public funding.