Legislative Assembly · District of Bayswater
David Kitchen
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Bayswater›
Bayswater is a 38.76 km2 outer-eastern Melbourne district in the North-Eastern Metropolitan Region, covering Bayswater, Heathmont, Kilsyth South, The Basin, and parts of Bayswater North, Boronia, Ringwood and Wantirna. It is currently held by Labor's Jackson Taylor, who won it at the 2022 election on a two-candidate-preferred vote of 54.23% to 45.77% (an 8.46-point margin) over the Liberal candidate. Taylor announced his retirement from politics in September 2025, making Bayswater an open contest at the 2026 election.
Background
Describes himself, via Liberal Victoria's candidate page, as a former Royal Australian Air Force officer and experienced community advocate; the direct page could not be retrieved, so this comes from search summaries of it. SSelf-stated — VICLIB-KITCHENLiberal Victoria, "David Kitchen — Liberal for Bayswater"View source
Eastern Melburnian's guide calls him a former RAAF officer, Victoria Police employee and public servant. RReported — EM-VIC26The Eastern Melburnian, "Victorian Election 2026: Eastern Melbourne Candidates"View source
Says his first job was with Victoria Police. SSelf-stated — VICLIB-KITCHEN, LFOI-KITCHENLiberal Victoria, "David Kitchen — Liberal for Bayswater"View sourceLiberal Friends of Israel, "Candidates — David Kitchen (Bayswater)"View source
Is an integral committee member of Liberal Friends of Israel and a strong advocate for the local Jewish community. SSelf-stated — VICLIB-KITCHEN, LFOI-KITCHENLiberal Victoria, "David Kitchen — Liberal for Bayswater"View sourceLiberal Friends of Israel, "Candidates — David Kitchen (Bayswater)"View source
In 2025 he visited Israel on a cultural program as a guest of the Israeli Embassy in Canberra. SSelf-stated — VICLIB-KITCHEN, LFOI-KITCHENLiberal Victoria, "David Kitchen — Liberal for Bayswater"View sourceLiberal Friends of Israel, "Candidates — David Kitchen (Bayswater)"View source
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Securing Protective Services Officers for train stations, increasing local police station hours and reducing crime, per Eastern Melburnian.
Community safety and crime reduction.
Names local traffic, the cost of living and crime as the issues facing Bayswater residents.
What Victorians say matters most
5 poll-led issuesCost of living and crime have ranked 1st or 2nd in every Victorian poll since mid‑2025, with debt and housing close behind — see schema §3 for the polling this grouping is based on (DemosAU, Ipsos Issues Monitor, Roy Morgan). The 0-10 'priorityScore' on each candidate's issue entries is NOT a measure of true importance or an independent ranking of what a candidate actually cares about. It reflects how much detail and specificity exists in what that candidate has actually said publicly on that issue -- a named policy mechanism and a verified voting record score higher than a one-line stated priority, regardless of the issue's real-world weight. Render this distinction in the UI wherever the score appears; do not label it just 'Priority' without the qualifier.
Cost of living
Kitchen has made no personal cost-of-living statement.
Crime and community safety
Wants Protective Services Officers at local train stations and longer local police station hours.
The Coalition's bail and sentencing policy, per the ABC, would automatically deny bail to reoffenders under a one-strike rule and treat burglary, serious assault and attempted murder as adult offences.
It would also strengthen breach of bail as an offence and remove the youth exemption.
His background includes work with Victoria Police, per his party page.
Housing affordability and supply
Kitchen has made no personal housing statement.
The Coalition would lift the first-home buyer threshold to remove stamp duty on homes up to $1 million, per a housing-policy comparison.
State government debt and fiscal management
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
His wish to return Protective Services Officers to train stations touches on public transport safety; no infrastructure delivery position is attributed to him.
Also on the record
6 substance issuesThese don't top “biggest issue” polling, but carry real 2026 policy weight and genuine differences between parties.
Education and training
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Health and healthcare access
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Regional and rural Victoria
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Local & party context
2 fieldsNot scored the way the eleven issues above are — these are fixed facts about the seat and the party, not positions with more or less emphasis behind them.
Kitchen's crime-and-safety focus aligns with the Coalition's bail, sentencing and Protective Services Officers commitments. RReported — EM-VIC26, ABC-BAIL-2026The Eastern Melburnian, "Victorian Election 2026: Eastern Melbourne Candidates"View sourceABC News, "Victorian opposition announces bail, sentencing policy including 'one strike' bail rule"View source
No point of divergence was found. Coalition costings on cost of living, energy, health and education could not be retrieved in this pass, so those issues are left empty rather than filled with unattributed figures.
Track record & prior candidacies
He is not among the candidates in the 2014, 2018 or 2022 Bayswater state elections; the Liberal candidates were Heidi Victoria (2014, 2018) and Nick Wakeling (2022). VVerified — WIKI-BAYS-RESULTS, VEC-BAYS-2022Wikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Bayswater"View sourceVictorian Electoral Commission, "Bayswater District results — 2022 state election"View source
His candidate information mentions no earlier campaign, so this appears to be his first state contest.
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Per the Victorian Electoral Commission's funding guidance (vec.vic.gov.au, accessed 2026-09-29 via search snippets of its independent-candidate and registered-party funding pages), a candidate is eligible for public election funding if they receive at least 4% of first-preference votes in their contest, or are elected. Funding is reimbursed against an audited statement of campaign expenditure, and advance funding must be repaid in full if the threshold is missed.
Kitchen has not previously contested an election, so he has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest.