Key facts
- Ghaith Krayem, MVM national spokesperson, said circumstances have changed ahead of the November 28 state election.
- MVM will not put Labor first on any how-to-vote card, favouring independents and minor parties instead.
- Krayem said going hard anti-Labor as at the federal election could benefit One Nation.
- Greenvale is held by Labor on a 7.1% two-party preferred margin, Narre Warren South on 8.3%.
- In Narre Warren South, 13.1% of the constituency is Muslim, against 4.2% state-wide, per 2021 census data.
- In Tarneit, 14.6% of residents are Muslim; Labor holds the seat on a 12.3% margin.
Muslim Votes Matter will relax its anti-Labor position at Victoria's state election on November 28, directing supporters to vote for Labor ahead of Pauline Hanson's One Nation in all lower house electorates. The group will aim to have volunteers on the ground in Greenvale, in Melbourne's north, and Narre Warren South, in the city's south-east, seats it fears could be taken by One Nation.
The move departs from the group's stance at the 2025 federal election, when the pro-Palestine group endorsed Greens and independent candidates to punish Labor over the federal government's handling of Israel's war in Gaza.
Ghaith Krayem, MVM's national spokesperson, said circumstances had changed. He said the group would still not put Labor in the top spot on any how-to-vote card, favouring independents and minor parties as it did at the 2025 federal election. "As a community, we certainly don't want to increase One Nation's influence," he said. "There is a risk that if we went hard anti-Labor, like we did in the federal election, that would in fact benefit One Nation, and that's not an outcome we want."
Krayem said Muslim communities feared that if the Coalition could not form majority government it could be forced to negotiate with One Nation and agree to some of its policy demands. He pointed to Hanson's call for a burqa ban in Australia as rhetoric that affected Muslim people. "It becomes more normal for people to question the rights of how Muslims dress, to question the rights of whether the Muslim community is Australian enough," he said.
Krayem said MVM would preference Labor over the Liberal party in seats where Liberal preferences could flow to One Nation. Opposition leader Jess Wilson has been tight lipped when asked about preferences or potential deals with One Nation, saying the Coalition is running for majority government.
Greenvale, created before the 2022 election, is held by Labor on a 7.1% margin on a two-party preferred basis and has a significant Middle Eastern population. Labor holds Narre Warren South on an 8.3% two-party preferred margin, and 2021 census data shows 13.1% of the constituency are Muslim compared with 4.2% state-wide. MVM will also have volunteers in Tarneit, where 14.6% of residents are Muslim and Labor holds the seat on a 12.3% margin.
Krayem said the outer western electorate was chosen after conversations with Muslim communities who said they were frustrated with Labor. He said Labor's positions on Palestine, freedom of speech and protesting remained an issue across the community, and that Palestine and Gaza was still the number-one issue the community was unhappy about at all levels of government. MVM will create how-to-vote cards for every lower and upper house seat based on how candidates align with its policy priorities, and volunteers will hand them out at polling booths in Greenvale, Narre Warren South and Tarneit. Its Victorian priorities include tackling Islamophobia, cost of living and housing security, and respecting residents' rights to advocate for Palestine.