Legislative Assembly · District of Bayswater
Gary Coombs
Last verified 29 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
A 2022 Ferntree Gully Star Mail candidate profile, as summarised in search results, described Family First's Bayswater candidate Gary Coombes as an electronic technician; the article itself could not be retrieved, and the spelling differs from the 2026 party listing. RReported — STARMAIL-2022Ferntree Gully Star Mail, "Meet the candidates for Bayswater"View source
No current occupation is stated on any 2026 source.
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
In 2022 he said he was concerned that children are being taught radical politically correct ideas instead of the basics, and that he would work to protect local families from "radical political correctness".
The 2026 party listing carries no candidate statement, and Eastern Melburnian's guide gave no biographical detail for him.
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
In 2022 he cited Family First policy to cut cost-of-living pressure by increasing the supply of gas and nuclear-powered electricity.
Family First's national economic policy proposes cutting the small-business company tax rate for Australian-owned businesses; it has no explicit household cost-of-living commitments.
Crime and community safety
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Housing affordability and supply
Family First's national housing policy would release more land, cut "red and green tape", support modular housing, extend the first home buyers grant to existing houses and ban further foreign ownership of land or houses where not reciprocated.
Nothing on housing is attributed to Coombs personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Family First's national economic policy commits to "a pathway towards fiscal responsibility by tackling government debt"; nothing is attributed to Coombs personally.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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
His stated 2022 reason for standing centred on children being taught "radical politically correct ideas" instead of the basics.
Family First's national education policy would return the curriculum to reading, writing and arithmetic, restore the primacy of Western Civilisation and remove gender-fluid ideology from curricula.
It would also make it an offence for teachers or social workers to hide anything from parents, and encourage faith-based schools to flourish.
Health and healthcare access
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
In 2022 he cited Family First policy to stop power station closures until viable baseload alternatives exist, and to expand gas and nuclear electricity.
Family First's national energy policy would end Net Zero targets, abolish renewable subsidies, withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord and keep remaining coal-fired power stations open.
It would also green-light nuclear power, lift restrictions on gas exploration and remove EV subsidies.
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.
His 2022 statements, on gas and nuclear power and on schools teaching the basics, restate Family First's national policy. RReported — STARMAIL-2022, FF-POLICY-ENERGYFerntree Gully Star Mail, "Meet the candidates for Bayswater"View sourceFamily First Party Australia, "Energy Policy"View source
No point of divergence from the party was found. Family First's Victorian 2026 candidates page carries no Victorian-specific policy detail, so positions above come from its national pages and his 2022 statements.
Track record & prior candidacies
Contested Bayswater for Family First at the 2022 state election, receiving 1,397 first-preference votes (3.28%); the VEC spells his name Coombes. VVerified — VEC-BAYS-2022Victorian Electoral Commission, "Bayswater District results — 2022 state election"View source
The ABC's 2022 guide records that Gary Coombes was Family First's candidate for Bayswater in 2010, for the federal seat of Casey in 2013 and for Deakin in 2016. VVerified — ABC-BAYS-2022ABC News, "Bayswater — 2022 Victorian election guide"View source
The 2026 party page spells the name Coombs and gives no biography; the match with the 2022 candidate is very likely but not confirmed by any source.
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.
His 2022 Bayswater result of 3.28% fell short of 4%, so it earned no state public-funding entitlement.