Original Article: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-28/independents-run-for-melbournes-neglected-outer-west/101479084
By state political reporter Richard Willingham
Posted Wed 28 Sep 2022 at 5:30amWednesday 28 Sep 2022 at 5:30am, updated Wed 28 Sep 2022 at 4:50pm

“Joe Garra may have already kicked a few political goals before any votes have even been cast for this November’s state election.

The major political parties are paying serious attention to Melbourne’s outer western suburbs, an area that for generations was considered safe Labor territory.

After a tilt at Treasurer Tim Pallas’s Werribee seat in 2018, where he won nearly one in five votes as an independent, Dr Garra is once again putting his hand up for parliament, this time in the new seat of Point Cook, where he lives.

“Even if I don’t win and just make it marginal and get more services out here. I think we’ve been neglected for so long in the western suburbs,” Dr Garra told the ABC.

The GP works in Werribee and has been encouraged by many to again run in the seat, but a redistribution has seen his home area moved into the new seat of Point Cook.

“I’ve always been really strong on you have to live in your electorate,” Dr Garra said, a pointed attack at some Labor politicians who choose not to live in their seats.

There is a growing unease among Labor strategists about the fate of its seats in the west.

Campaigners from both major parties as well as researchers say there is a shift in mood among the outer west — a similar phenomenon is occurring in the south-east of Melbourne, which was reflected in a drop in primary vote at the federal election.

“There’s a lot of anti-government sentiment, but not a lot of pro-opposition. So, I think people just want to change and want to a voice that will represent them and speak for them,” Dr Garra said.