Legislative Assembly · District of Williamstown
Oskar Martin
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Williamstown›
Williamstown is a Labor seat in Melbourne's inner west held by senior minister Melissa Horne since 2018. At the 2022 election she won 41.5% of first preferences and 63.4% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Daria Kellander. She is recontesting in a seven-candidate field: the Liberals' Paul Lindemann, the Greens' Ben Hocking, independent Tony Briffa (a former Hobsons Bay mayor), the West Party's Gill Gannon, One Nation's Catherine Loughnan and the Victorian Socialists' Oskar Martin. The Tally Room rates Labor's margin as large, though commentary there suggests Briffa could poll strongly.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Fighting inequality, opposing right-wing movements and campaigns targeting immigrants, Aboriginal rights and liberation, and community safety without privatised security.
"I believe working-class people deserve better."
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
Says "the rich are getting richer year by year, while our Labor government and politicians govern for them".
The party's fiscal policy would fund services with a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires, a 20% bank profits tax and a 20% super-profits tax on retailers earning over $100 million.
Crime and community safety
Names community safety and opposes private security measures, having opposed private guards in Footscray.
A summary of the party's policing policy says it would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16.
Housing affordability and supply
The party's housing policy would cut all residential rents 25% then freeze them for five years, and build at least 15,000 public housing units a year for ten years.
State government debt and fiscal management
The party's fiscal policy centres on new revenue including a 10% annual billionaire wealth tax; nothing on debt levels is attributed to Martin.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would make public transport free; nothing is attributed to Martin personally.
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
A summary of the party's education policy says it would provide universal preschool and childcare and end NAPLAN testing; nothing is attributed to Martin personally.
Health and healthcare access
Works as a mental health researcher.
A summary of the party's health policy says it would fully fund public healthcare and expand free community clinics.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
A summary of the party's energy policies says it would move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy; nothing is attributed to Martin personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Names Aboriginal rights and liberation as a priority and is himself a Bundjalung and Kamilaroi man.
A summary of the party's First Nations policy says it wants a treaty with material change beyond symbolic recognition.
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.
Martin runs on the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform, and his priorities match it. SSelf-stated — VS-MARTIN, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Oskar Martin"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
His profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — VS-MARTINVictorian Socialists, "Oskar Martin"View source
He is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Williamstown results; the Victorian Socialists' 2022 candidate was Julien Q. Macandili (3.9%). VVerified — WIKI-WILLIAMSTOWN-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Williamstown"View source
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.
Martin has not previously contested an election. The Victorian Socialists' 2022 Williamstown candidate polled 3.9%, just under the 4% mark.