Peter Khalil returns for 4th term
Battle for Wills has been won by Peter Khalil. A happy and triumphant Peter Khalil has circulated a media release thanking the people of Wills for placing the faith in him and his abilities to be their voice for the 4th term.
When redistribution was being looked at in Victoria, some believed the electorate of Wills was being considered to be abolished. Someone claiming to have insider knowledge (not verifiable by BT) claimed the party was resolute to keep Wills, a safe Labor seat and prepared to let Higgins go because Higgins had been a blue-ribbon seat all along until won by Labor in 2022. Abolition of Wills would have left Peter Khalil with no lower house seat and he would have had to vie for a place in the senate. That would require a whole set of different shenanigans and involve operatives for the Labor machinery on the right and the left in action.
The electorate of Wills was kept by the AEC with modified boundaries with parts of the Melbourne electorate — held by the Greens’ federal leader Adam Bandt — were added to the south of Wills, including Brunswick East, Carlton North, Princes Hill and Fitzroy North. A projected 20,804 voters were added to the electorate.
That gave the Greens a sense of confidence and the push to wrest it from Labor. Soon, the Greens leader in the Victorian parliament Samantha Ratnam announced she would have a tilt at Wills, and she did, with BT watching it closely all along. The battle for Wills was totally misunderstood by the Greens.
The result for the battle for Wills was predicted by BT, more than 24 hours ahead of polls closing on May 3. As predicted, Peter Khalil has held on to the seat, despite all the polls predicting change.
It was not only the Greens vote but Labor’s stance on terrorism and Peter’s work as the Chair of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security which advises and lists various terrorist organizations to keep Australia safe and secure. And later as special envoy for social cohesion – which saw him as a target by the pro-Palestinian protestors.
That explains why the Greens played the Gaza war card with belligerence and dexterity. And as it turned out and conceded by one of the founders of the party, they over did it.
It would be not wrong for them to understand that life is not a ‘stage performance’ and voters are not just the audience, they are also players and thus part of it. If they are struggling to pay their bills, they are sure to disapprove the script. That’s what they did.
At least majority of them for Peter Khalil.
Peter has been an outstanding leader and local member, even for those who do not vote Labor. Such was his persona for the local members of Indian/ South Asian descent. BT is glad it was able to gauge it accurately and predict his win, defying all the big fat agencies and social media players.
BT has no doubt Peter Khalil will be an extremely important voice for all members of the electorate of Wills.
An elated Peter Khalil says he has an amazing team behind him who are all ready to deliver for Wills.
“Being a Labor MP within a re-elected Albanese Labor Government, I am excited to continue advocating and delivering for our community.
“I look forward to delivering on my commitments to open a new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Coburg, to make Linear Parklands a more accessible space, to upgrade our sporting facilities at Fawkner Netball Courts and Gillon Oval, and much more.
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“Our democratic process should be conducted peacefully, and I want to thank the majority of candidates who ran a respectful and positive campaign. Our democracy is precious, and we all have an obligation to protect it from intimidation and violence.”