‘Enraged’ union boss defends naming and shaming Victorian Labor MPs who had ‘zero conversations’ with voters

Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary, Luke Hilakari, said he was ‘frankly enraged’ to learn 23 Labor MPs or candidates had ‘zero conversations’ with constituents in the first two weeks of June. Photograph: James Ross/AAP View image in fullscreen Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary, Luke Hilakari, said he was ‘frankly enraged’ to learn 23 Labor MPs or candidates had ‘zero conversations’ with constituents in the first two weeks of June. Photograph: James Ross/AAP ‘Enraged’ union boss defends naming and shaming Victorian Labor MPs who had ‘zero conversations’ with voters Candidates must ‘work their ass off’ to stop One Nation or expect withdrawal of union support, Trades Hall Council secretary says Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The head of Victoria’s powerful Trades Hall Council has defended naming and shaming 23 state Labor MPs and candidates for having “zero conversations” with their constituents in the past two weeks, saying they all need to “work their ass off” to stop One Nation’s rise . Luke Hilakari wrote to MPs and candidates on Tuesday morning warning if they “don’t give a shit about winning”, they shouldn’t expect support from the union movement during the November election campaign. As One Nation’s popularity grows, Hilakari said the union movement was planning its “biggest election campaign ever” and wanted to identify which MPs and candidates were actively campaigning in order to decide where to focus its efforts. I face sexist abuse every day as a female MP – misogyny is unacceptable whatever side of the aisle we’re on | Georgie Purcell Read more “I was frankly enraged to learn that 23 MPs or candidates have had ZERO conversations with voters in the last fortnight,” Hilakari wrote in the email, which had the subject line, “Complacent MPs should not expect any support.” Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Those named include ministers Steve Dimopoulos, Sonya Kilkenny, Nick Staikos, Ros Spence and Natalie Suleyman, backbenchers and candidates in marginal seats. The data, reported fortnightly by Labor party headquarters since mid-2025, also showed that the premier knocked on 86 doors and spoke with 32 constituents, while the deputy premier, Ben Carroll, knocked on 35 and had 11 conversations with voters. Sarah McKenzie, who is seeking to reclaim the seat of Richmond from the Greens, had 270 conversations with constituents – more than any other candidate. She was followed by Sydenham candidate Uros Rasic, who had 180 conversations, and Clarinda MP Meng Heang Tak, spoke to 159 voters. How many conversations did Labor MPs and candidates have with constituents? Hilakari said if the MPs didn’t lift voter contact in the next fortnight he would recommended to his executive council that “no campaigning action happens in their seat”. He said if he were a member of the Labor party’s administrative committee, he would also recommended stripping can