Legislative Assembly · District of Bellarine
Alison Marchant
Last verified 26 Aug 2026
Seat context — Bellarine›
The Legislative Assembly district of Bellarine stretches from the Bellarine Peninsula to the outer eastern suburbs of Geelong, covering Barwon Heads, Clifton Springs, Drysdale, Ocean Grove, Point Lonsdale, Portarlington, Queenscliff and the Geelong suburb of Leopold. It has traditionally been a marginal seat that has changed hands between Labor and Liberal since being recreated in 1985. Labor's Alison Marchant won the seat at the 2022 election, defeating the Liberal candidate on a two-candidate-preferred vote of 58.46% to 41.54% — a margin of roughly 17 points.
Background
Before entering Parliament, worked as a primary school teacher, then for four years as an electorate officer for Corio MP (and now Deputy Prime Minister) Richard Marles. SSelf-stated — PARL-MARCHANTParliament of Victoria, "Alison Marchant - Parliament of Victoria member listing"View source
Also co-owned a small boutique agri-business growing and selling fresh berries and garlic at local farmers markets in Portarlington, Ocean Grove and Point Lonsdale. RReported — BT-SELECTEDBellarine Times, "Marchant selected as Neville's successor in Bellarine"View source
Prior to Parliament, was a prominent community campaigner against coal seam gas fracking with the group Frack Free Moriac, which motivated her entry into politics. VVerified — PARL-MARCHANTParliament of Victoria, "Alison Marchant - Parliament of Victoria member listing"View source
Jointly named the 2017 Surf Coast Shire Citizen of the Year for this advocacy. RReported — BT-SELECTEDBellarine Times, "Marchant selected as Neville's successor in Bellarine"View source
Born and raised in Leopold, within the Bellarine electorate, to a farming family. VVerified — PARL-MARCHANT, WP-MARCHANTParliament of Victoria, "Alison Marchant - Parliament of Victoria member listing"View sourceWikipedia, "Alison Marchant"View source
Co-owned a small boutique agri-business selling berries and garlic at farmers markets in Portarlington, Ocean Grove and Point Lonsdale — all within the electorate. RReported — BT-SELECTEDBellarine Times, "Marchant selected as Neville's successor in Bellarine"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.
States she is "guided by my values of fairness, equality and compassion" and commits to "working collaboratively with the community to deliver what matters to the Bellarine," putting "community at the heart of decision making."
Her campaign website foregrounds cost of living and the St Leonards Pier redevelopment as headline focus areas.
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
Cost of living is a featured focus area on her campaign website, with dedicated support resources listed, but no specific named policy mechanism or figure attached to her personally.
Crime and community safety
No detailed position found beyond a "Bellarine Police Newsletter" resource link on her campaign website — no substantive policy statement.
Housing affordability and supply
Spoke in a Legislative Assembly matter of public importance debate on the statewide housing crisis — a direct parliamentary contribution rather than only campaign messaging, though the specific content of her remarks could not be confirmed from the sources reviewed.
State government debt and fiscal management
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
The St Leonards Pier redevelopment is her single most substantiated and repeated advocacy item.
A $46 million statewide 2023-24 Budget investment in piers and jetties included $2.8 million for the St Leonards boat ramp (including wave protection).
Final design renderings for the rebuilt pier — featuring wheelchair-accessible fishing locations and safer public access — were released in March 2026, with a construction tender open and a lead contractor expected to be appointed in mid-2026.
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
Joined the Minister for Health Infrastructure at the sod-turning for the new $500 million Barwon Women's and Children's hospital project in Geelong (expected completion 2029), which will also pave the way for new Bellarine West Specialist Outpatient Clinics at the site of the Gretta Volum Centre.
Also joined officials to visit the newly expanded Youang Surgery Centre.
Urban planning and housing density
Spoke in Parliament on the signing of the Bellarine Peninsula's distinctive area and landscape (DAL) statement of planning policy under the Planning and Environment Act 1987, which locks in protected settlement boundaries for all Bellarine townships.
A substantive, seat-specific planning commitment tied to a named piece of policy.
Climate and energy transition
No 2026 candidate-level climate/energy statement found.
Her public profile is historically associated with anti-fracking/anti-coal-seam-gas advocacy before entering Parliament (see Background), but no current parliamentary or campaign statement on renewable energy targets, offshore wind, or the SEC was located.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Her campaign website includes an acknowledgement of the Wadawurrung people as traditional owners and pays respects to elders past and present — a standard acknowledgement-of-country statement, not a substantive policy position.
Regional and rural Victoria
Her campaign website describes Bellarine's "landscape of rolling agricultural hills, beaches and unique townships," reflecting a regional framing of the electorate, without a specific named regional policy commitment.
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.
The St Leonards Pier redevelopment (see infrastructure above) and the Barwon Women's and Children's Hospital / Bellarine West Specialist Outpatient Clinics project (see health above) are her two most substantiated, genuinely local commitments, each tied to a named project, location and funding figure rather than generic statewide messaging. VVerified — MARCHANT-STLEONARDS, PREMIER-BARWONWCAlison Marchant MP, "Next Step Forward for St Leonards Pier Redevelopment"View sourcePremier of Victoria, "Barwon Women's & Children's Reaches New Milestone"View source
The Bellarine Peninsula's distinctive area and landscape (DAL) planning-policy statement (see urban-planning above) is a further genuinely local, Bellarine-specific commitment. VVerified — HANSARD-DALParliament of Victoria, "Bellarine Peninsula distinctive area and landscape — Legislative Assembly Hansard" (16 Aug 2023)View source
A standard aligned Labor MP; her most substantiated commitments (St Leonards Pier, Barwon Women's and Children's Hospital) are Victorian Labor government infrastructure/health projects she has advocated for locally as the sitting member, rather than points of personal divergence from party policy. VVerified — MARCHANT-STLEONARDS, PREMIER-BARWONWCAlison Marchant MP, "Next Step Forward for St Leonards Pier Redevelopment"View sourcePremier of Victoria, "Barwon Women's & Children's Reaches New Milestone"View source
No evidence found of her breaking from the party line on any issue. VVerified — MARCHANT-STLEONARDS, PREMIER-BARWONWCAlison Marchant MP, "Next Step Forward for St Leonards Pier Redevelopment"View sourcePremier of Victoria, "Barwon Women's & Children's Reaches New Milestone"View source
Track record & prior candidacies
No ministerial, shadow-ministerial, or current parliamentary committee role found. VVerified — LSIC-CURRENTParliament of Victoria, "Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee — current members"View source
Checked directly against the Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee's current membership list, which does not include her, despite an April 2025 Hansard record of her speaking on that committee's tabled report (a general "statements on committee reports" segment open to any MP, not evidence of membership). VVerified — LSIC-CURRENTParliament of Victoria, "Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee — current members"View source
Delivered her inaugural speech to the Legislative Assembly on 9 February 2023. VVerified — PARL-MARCHANTParliament of Victoria, "Alison Marchant - Parliament of Victoria member listing"View source
Has spoken in Parliament on the Bellarine Peninsula's distinctive area and landscape planning policy and in a matter of public importance debate on the statewide housing crisis; no vote against the party line or other notable break from Labor policy was found. VVerified — HANSARD-DAL, HANSARD-HOUSINGParliament of Victoria, "Bellarine Peninsula distinctive area and landscape — Legislative Assembly Hansard" (16 Aug 2023)View sourceParliament of Victoria, "Housing crisis — Legislative Assembly Hansard, matter of public importance"View source
Did not contest any election prior to winning Labor preselection for Bellarine and being elected in November 2022. VVerified — PARL-MARCHANT, WP-MARCHANTParliament of Victoria, "Alison Marchant - Parliament of Victoria member listing"View sourceWikipedia, "Alison Marchant"View source
In 2017, was unsuccessful in the Labor Party's internal preselection race for the neighbouring seat of South Barwon, losing to Darren Cheeseman — an internal party selection process, not an electoral contest, so distinct from an actual previous candidacy. RReported — BT-SELECTEDBellarine Times, "Marchant selected as Neville's successor in Bellarine"View source
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
As the sitting Labor member seeking re-election, any public funding attributable to her Bellarine result is paid to the Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch) rather than to her individually, and is available only if the party's candidate(s) are elected or receive at least 4% of first-preference votes, calculated against the party's audited campaign-expenditure statement and vote count — currently $7.70 per first-preference vote for Legislative Assembly candidates, effective 1 July 2026, up to legislated maximums (per the Victorian Electoral Commission's own indexation and registered-political-party funding guidance, accessed 2026-08-26).