Legislative Assembly · District of Bentleigh
Herbert Lonsing
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Bentleigh›
The district of Bentleigh covers about 25 square kilometres of southern Melbourne, taking in the suburbs of Bentleigh, Hampton East, McKinnon and Moorabbin, plus parts of Cheltenham, Bentleigh East, Brighton East and Ormond. It is held by Labor's Nick Staikos, who won 58.04% of the two-party-preferred vote against the Liberal candidate at the 2022 election, a margin of roughly 16 points. Bentleigh has a long-standing reputation as a bellwether seat, having elected a member of the governing party in all but two elections in its history.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Cost of living, crime reduction, police station hours and resources, energy and utility costs, infrastructure, road safety, and support for families and businesses.
"Standing for Bentleigh is about continuing a lifetime of service, listening to the community, standing by his principles and putting local families and businesses first."
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
Names cost of living and energy and utility costs as priorities.
The One Nation Victoria platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would remove insurance duty on premiums and end renewable subsidies.
Crime and community safety
Names crime reduction and police station opening hours and resources as priorities, drawing on over 40 years in policing.
Housing affordability and supply
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would ban foreign ownership of residential property.
State government debt and fiscal management
Wants taxpayer money spent wisely.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Names infrastructure improvements and road safety.
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
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would establish elected school boards with a parent majority.
Health and healthcare access
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, opposes Net Zero by 2050.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would oppose and repeal Victoria's Statewide Treaty framework.
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.
Their themes sit within One Nation's statewide platform. SSelf-stated — ON-HL, ET-ON-POLICYOne Nation Victoria, "Herbert Lonsing for Bentleigh"View sourceAustralian Election Tracker, "One Nation policy profile — 2026 Victorian election"View source
Wikipedia's 2026 candidates table lists them as One Nation's candidate for this seat. RReported — WIKI-2026CANDSWikipedia, "Candidates of the 2026 Victorian state election"View source
Track record & prior candidacies
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.
Herbert Lonsing has not previously contested a state election on the profile's account, and One Nation's earlier Victorian results in this seat were not retrieved.