New Labor candidate ready to tackle Casey's most complex issues

Casey is now a four-horse race with Naomi Oakley standing as the new Labor candidate.

Matthew Sims
March 03, 2025

The Labor Party has announced its candidate for Casey, with 2022 Menzies candidate Naomi Oakley stepping up to the plate in what is predicted to be a very close race.

Where is Casey?

The electorate covers 2,624 square kilometres, and there are four Local Government Areas (LGAs) within its boundary: Cardinia, Manningham, Nillumbik and Yarra Ranges. Suburbs in Casey include Lilydale, Mount Evelyn, Kilsyth and Belgrave.

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Who has previously held the seat?

Liberal MP Aaron Violi has held Casey since the last federal election in 2022, taking over from long-time Casey MP and former House of Representatives Speaker Tony Smith.

Violi received 36.5 per cent of the first preference votes in the 2022 election, with Labor candidate Bill Brindle receiving 24.9 per cent, Greens candidate Jenny Game 12.9 per cent and Independent candidate Claire Ferres Miles 8.3 per cent.

Following preference distribution, Violi retained the seat for the Liberal Party with a margin of 1.5 per cent, which represented a 3.1 per cent 2PP swing to Labor.

Previously, Tony Smith held the seat for the Liberal Party for more than 21 years, taking over from former Liberal Party deputy leader Michael Wooldridge, who served as Casey MP from 1998 to 2001, following 11 years as the MP for Chisholm.

The last Labor MP to hold the seat was Peter Steedman, who won the 1983 election.

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Who is the Labor candidate?

After vying for the seat of Menzies for Labor in 2022 and securing a third of the first preference votes and 49.3 per cent of the two-party preferred vote, Naomi Oakley is standing for Casey.

Having served in the Victoria Police for 13 years, she is now a frontline safety worker in hospitals.

“I have decided to stand for the federal seat of Casey because I believe my experience in the community uniquely prepares me to understand and deal with the complex issues that impact Casey,” Oakley said.

She said the electorate’s needs were always diverse and evolving, including climate change, health and access to services.

“My priority will be to improve access to hospitals, health care, improved educational resources, improved access to technology for bringing down power costs and access to better quality mobile signals and WiFi,” Oakley said.

Who are the other candidates?

Liberal MP Aaron Violi told the Eastern Melburnian his platforms include lowering the region’s cost of living, and improving roads and access to healthcare.

Independent Claire Ferres Miles said if elected her focus would be on working with both sides of the Australian Parliament; Greens candidate Merran Blair said she would aim to strengthen the local community’s resilience in dealing with climate change.

Monash School of Social Sciences Head of Politics and International Relations Discipline, Zareh Ghazarian, said Casey will come down to preferences, with Independent candidate Claire Ferres Miles and Greens candidate Merran Blair in a position where they may not win the seat, but can influence who does.