Legislative Assembly · District of Point Cook
Taylor Laine
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
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Access to education from early childhood to TAFE or university, public services, climate action, anti-racism, LGBTQ+ support, Palestinian justice and opposing the far right.
"Working-class people deserve to be represented by a party that will actually listen to and fight for the issues that affect them."
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
Wants an economy that prioritises working-class interests.
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 anti-racism and opposition to far-right movements as priorities.
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 Laine.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would make public transport free; nothing is attributed to Laine 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
Names access to education, from early childhood to TAFE or university, and public services as priorities.
A summary of the party's education policy says it would provide universal preschool and childcare and end NAPLAN testing.
Health and healthcare access
A summary of the party's health policy says it would fully fund public healthcare and expand free community clinics; nothing is attributed to Laine personally.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Names climate action and environmental protection as priorities.
A summary of the party's energy policies says it would move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
A summary of the party's First Nations policy says it wants a treaty with material change beyond symbolic recognition; nothing is attributed to Laine 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.
Laine runs on the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform, and their priorities match it. SSelf-stated — VS-LAINE, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Taylor Laine"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
Their profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — VS-LAINEVictorian Socialists, "Taylor Laine"View source
They are not among the candidates in the 2022 Point Cook results; the Victorian Socialists' candidate was Alex McAulay (3.6%). VVerified — WIKI-PC-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Point Cook"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.
Laine has not previously contested an election. The Victorian Socialists' 2022 Point Cook candidate polled 3.6%, just under the 4% mark.