Hussein back in fight for Polwarth

Torquay’s Hutch Hussein will again contest Polwarth for Labor, securing preselection ahead of November’s state election as the party eyes a breakthrough in one of Victoria’s most conservative seats.

The electorate has never been held by a Labor candidate and has remained in Liberal hands since 1949. Incumbent MP Richard Riordan has represented the seat since a by-election in 2015.

The race for Polwarth tightened significantly ahead of the 2022 election when a boundary change brought Torquay, Jan Juc and Bellbrae into the electorate, cutting the Liberal Party’s margin from 5.4 per cent to just 2 per cent.

Hussein further reduced that margin at the election, securing 48.2 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote and narrowing it to 1.8 per cent.

Hussein (second from left) during her 2022 campaign for Polwarth with (from left) disgraced South Barwon MP Darren Cheeseman, who is not expected to run for the seat again, former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews and incumbent Bellarine MP Alison Marchant. Photo: Supplied.

The result has placed the seat firmly within reach for Labor heading into this year’s poll.

“We’ve put the Liberal Party on notice,” Hussein said of the outcome. “Polwarth should be a Labor heartland.”

In conceding defeat, Hussein said Riordan’s victory had relied on preference flows from “extremist candidates”.

Born to Turkish Cypriot parents, Hussein previously served as president of Labor’s Victorian branch between 2016 and 2019.

She was the first person from an ethnic minority or LGBTQIA+ background to hold the role in the party’s more than 125-year history.

Liberal MP Richard Riordan has held Polwarth since a by-election in 2015. Photo: Supplied.

Hussein has also worked as a social worker, including in migrant resource centres, served as a ministerial adviser and was national co-convenor of Emily’s List, a group that supports the election of Labor women.

In a message to supporters confirming her preselection on Monday, Hussein framed November’s election as tightly contested.

“We’re not less than eight months away from the November Victorian election and there’s lots to do to ensure we re-elect an Allan Labor government and myself as Polwarth’s first Labor MP in 137 years,” she said.

“All whilst doing everything we can to avoid a Liberal Party–One Nation coalition government.”

Hussein’s endorsement follows Labor’s earlier selection of Rebecca Thistleton as its candidate for neighbouring South Barwon, as the party reshapes its local ticket ahead of the election.