Legislative Assembly · District of Tarneit
Dylan Wight
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Tarneit›
Tarneit is a safe Labor seat in Melbourne's outer south-west covering Tarneit, Truganina and Hoppers Crossing in the north of the City of Wyndham. Dylan Wight, a former Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union organiser, won it in 2022 with 46.6% of first preferences and 62.3% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Preet Singh, a margin of about 12 points, and is recontesting. The Tally Room notes community frustration over infrastructure lagging population growth, including overcrowding at Tarneit station and the need for a West Tarneit station. The 2026 field found is seven candidates: Wight, the Liberals' Venkat Ram Upparlapalle, the Greens' Rifai A. Raheem, the Victorian Socialists' Leah Van Keulen, the West Party's Andrew Elsbury, the Animal Justice Party's Maurita Rahn and the New Democrats' Jaydeep Patel. Wikipedia's 2026 candidates table has the Liberal and Greens labels shifted for this seat.
Background
Worked for eight years as a union representative advocating for manufacturing workers in Melbourne's west. SSelf-stated — WIGHT-SITEDylan Wight MP, "dylanwightmp.com.au/about"View source
Wikipedia records that he was an organiser at the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union. RReported — WIKI-WIGHTWikipedia, "Dylan Wight"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 for Tarneit including schools, public transport and healthcare facilities, and ensuring growth benefits all residents.
Cites "advocacy, collective strength, and hard work" as guiding principles.
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.
Crime and community safety
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes the 2025 bail law changes.
Housing affordability and supply
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, is built around the Big Housing Build.
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.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Names infrastructure development in Tarneit, including public transport, as a priority.
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 schools as part of the infrastructure Tarneit needs.
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 healthcare facilities as part of the infrastructure Tarneit needs.
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.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, cites implementation of the Statewide Treaty Act 2025.
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 records that he is in Labor's Socialist Left faction, noting the claim lacks a citation. RReported — WIKI-WIGHTWikipedia, "Dylan Wight"View source
As a government backbencher 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, Wight met the "elected" limb of the test in 2022, and his 46.6% first-preference vote was also well above 4%.