Victorian State Election 2026 | Legislative Assembly (Lower House)
Teal Independent candidate
Bulleen
Legislative Assembly
Photo: River Rublee (2026)
1. Tell us about yourself.
Professionally, I offer three decades of experience in national security, local government, and higher education. Academically, I specialise in democratization and good governance, backed by doctoral research at the ANU and field research in post-conflict West Africa. I understand firsthand how to hold public institutions accountable and make them work for us.
Personally, my commitment to service extends beyond the workplace. I offer a lifetime of volunteering in prison mentoring, Scouting, citizen science, and my local church.
2. What is your connection to the local community?
My family and I have proudly called the Bulleen District home for eight years. Our connection is built on local schooling, church life, and advocacy for local youth. While serving as active members of Manningham Uniting Church, we recognised a local need and founded Catch Your Breath, a friendship program dedicated to supporting local neurodiverse youth and their families.
3. Why are you standing for election?
The major party models of political leadership no longer serve the best interests of the people they claim to represent. In fact, I believe the nature of party politics prevents most parties from engaging in genuine reforms motivated primarily by a sense of the public good. Election promises aside, they promptly forget the average citizen in favor of partisan self-preservation, political theatre, and powerful interests.
I’m standing for election to break this vicious cycle. Victorians don’t need another recycled party line or top-down mandate. They deserve a transparent, accountable government built on shared power. History proves, when political parties are required to share power with a few principled Independents, the public wins.
4. What do you consider the three most pressing issues facing the communities you hope to represent?
My campaign is anchored in the commitment to serve people with compassion, protect our social and natural environments, and build a sustainable future for our children. This includes:
Lowering Energy Costs While Reducing Emissions
High power bills are crushing Victorian households and businesses. One way to permanently lower costs and cut emissions is to help people voluntarily switch to efficient electric appliances powered by rooftop solar and home batteries.
Heavy handed mandates are not the answer. However, upfront costs and red tape lock out renters, retirees, and middle-income families. We can fix this with zero-interest loans for energy upgrades, cutting red tape on solar and battery rebates, and introducing incentives for landlords to drive down power bills and lower emissions for homeowners, renters, and businesses alike.
Treating Road Maintenance as a Basic Safety Issue
When the Victorian Auditor General states that $3 billion a year is required just to keep roads from getting worse, budgeting around $1 billion is a false economy that turns cracks into full-scale reconstructions and threatens lives.
To protect ourselves and fix our infrastructure, we must fully fund road maintenance based on expert recommendations, scrutinise contracting practices, cut administrative waste, and tie every dollar to independent performance audits for durable repairs the first time.
Protecting Communities and Vital Resources from Unchecked AI Data Centres
We need a modern digital economy, but it shouldn't come at the expense of local communities, household power bills, or water security. Rapidly expanding AI data centres place massive demands on our resources, and communities are right to demand strict safeguards.
We cannot let big tech build unchecked. Current state planning rules are a step forward, but they don't apply to the dozens of data centres already planned or built. To truly protect residents, we must place protections into law rather than relying on temporary planning directives, ensure big tech pays its own way without taxpayer subsidies, and give locals a real voice when it comes to consultation and oversight.
5. What specific actions would you take to improve the everyday lives of residents, particularly those in Manningham?
To improve the everyday lives of Manningham residents, I will champion a wider agenda of reform that includes:
Fully Funding Essential Infrastructure and Frontline Services: We can’t improve local quality of life if our roads are crumbling, our hospitals and police are under-funded, and our retirees can’t age with dignity in their own homes.
Lowering Cost-of-Living Pressures: We can tackle the cost-of-living crisis through practical, systemic support, such as renewable energy upgrades, affordable access to dental and mental health care, better workforce training for people of all ages, and delivering reliable supports for vulnerable individuals.
Protecting Local Amenity from Overdevelopment: Good governance means giving community voices a genuine seat at the decision-making table. Whether it’s ironclad rules around AI data centres or fiercely protecting our Green Wedges from sprawl, we must place local residents at the centre of planning so we can protect the unique character of Manningham and wider Victoria for generations to come.
6. Why should voters elect you?
Bulleen and wider Victoria have been let down by political leaders who refuse to build consensus and take advice. If I’m elected, my actions will be guided by your voices and the conviction that each of us deserve to thrive with dignity and respect. Voters should elect me because they deserve an experienced, independent representative who listens first, acts with integrity, and brings people together to get things done.
Editor's note: The responses are provided by the candidates and reflect their own views. Publication does not constitute an endorsement by Manningham Life.
