Legislative Assembly · District of Berwick
Nalinda Amarasiri Gunawardana
Last verified 5 Sept 2026
Seat context — Berwick›
Berwick covers outer south-eastern Melbourne suburbs including Beaconsfield, Berwick and Clyde North, plus small towns south of Emerald around Cardinia Creek. The district was re-established for the 2022 election, and Liberal candidate Brad Battin won it comfortably, finishing on 50.11% two-candidate-preferred against Labor's 37.26% — a margin of roughly 12.8 points. Battin has held Berwick since the 2022 election and briefly served as Victorian Liberal Opposition Leader (December 2024–November 2025) before losing a party-room spill to Jess Wilson.
Background
States he has lived in Clyde North for four years and previously lived in Beaconsfield, both suburbs within the Berwick district. SSelf-stated — VICSOC-NAG-PROFILEVictorian Socialists, "Nalinda Amarasiri Gunawardana — candidate profile"View source
Describes over 25 years as a community organiser/activist, including 12 years in Australia, involved in anti-racism, climate action, and Palestine solidarity campaigning. SSelf-stated — VICSOC-NAG-PROFILEVictorian Socialists, "Nalinda Amarasiri Gunawardana — candidate profile"View source
Lists current memberships in Amnesty International (active member), the Lacan Circle of Australia (a psychoanalysis discussion group), and student membership of the Australian Counsellors Association. SSelf-stated — VICSOC-NAG-PROFILEVictorian Socialists, "Nalinda Amarasiri Gunawardana — candidate profile"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.
Uphold unity in multicultural, multi-faith communities.
Deliver free, universally accessible healthcare for everyone.
Improve the quality of public schools.
Guarantee secure housing for all; he frames this partly around resolving what he calls the housing shortage and cost-of-living crisis.
Protect dignity and human rights.
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
Gunawardana's campaign bio frames his candidacy around wealth inequality and the cost-of-living crisis, stating "in a wealthy society, everyone deserves a decent life" and criticising politicians as out of touch with constituents.
The statewide Victorian Socialists platform he is running on proposes a "$100 trolley" scheme letting households buy a week's groceries at cut prices (funded from supermarket profits) and free lunches for all primary students.
The same platform calls for permanently free public transport, funded by ending private train, tram and bus operator contracts and redirecting the subsidies currently paid to them.
It also proposes an immediate cap on household electricity and gas bills, funded by windfall taxes on energy company profits, plus writing off existing household utility debt.
Crime and community safety
No personal statement from Gunawardana on crime or policing was found. Under the statewide Victorian Socialists platform, the party would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16 and shift the burden of proof for bail so prosecutors must justify detention rather than the accused proving eligibility for release.
The same platform calls for progressively de-funding Victoria Police and redirecting funds to community safety initiatives, disarming officers on general patrol, and establishing an independent police ombudsman rather than police investigating themselves.
Housing affordability and supply
Gunawardana lists "secure housing for all" among what he stands for and frames part of his candidacy around resolving what he calls the housing shortage.
The Victorian Socialists platform he is running on proposes a one-off 25% cut to all residential tenancies followed by a five-year rent freeze, then capping future rises at whichever is lower of half the CPI or the Wage Price Index.
The platform also commits to building at least 15,000 new public housing units per year for at least a decade via a publicly owned construction company, with public housing rents capped at 20% of household income.
It further proposes a mandatory 30% public/affordable housing quota (inclusionary zoning) on private developments, a ban on owning more than five properties, and a 30% Capital Improved Value tax on land left vacant more than six months.
State government debt and fiscal management
No personal statement from Gunawardana on state government debt levels was found. The Victorian Socialists' statewide funding policy does not address debt directly, instead framing its costed program through new taxes on wealth.
Those proposed taxes include a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires, doubled payroll tax on large companies, and a 20% profits tax on the five biggest banks — revenue-raising measures rather than a debt-management or fiscal-sustainability plan.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Among his pledged campaign focus areas, Gunawardana lists "enhanced road infrastructure" if elected, without specifying particular roads or projects.
The Victorian Socialists' statewide transport platform proposes turn-up-and-go frequent service on high-frequency public transport routes and extending rail into the northern and western growth corridors.
It also commits to at least $140 million a year in dedicated cycling infrastructure funding, though it does not address major project cost overruns or delivery timelines specifically.
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
Gunawardana states he stands for "enhanced quality in public schools" and pledges to fight for "better public school quality" if elected, without further specifics in sources reviewed.
The statewide Victorian Socialists platform commits to the "Gonski-plus" funding model as a minimum for public schools, hiring 12,000 additional teachers and support staff, and capping class sizes at 15 students (down from a current secondary average of 25).
It also proposes ending state funding to expensive private schools and providing free, nutritious lunches to all primary students in state schools.
For tertiary education, the party proposes capping international student fees at the actual cost of course delivery and boosting TAFE funding so public providers become dominant over private ones.
Health and healthcare access
Gunawardana states he stands for "free healthcare for everyone" and pledges to fight for "improved, universally accessible healthcare" if elected.
The statewide Victorian Socialists platform proposes lifting public hospital beds to a minimum of 3 per 1,000 Victorians, expanding the ambulance fleet, and eliminating Ambulance Victoria membership fees to make ambulance callouts free.
It also commits to a hospital wage rise of at least 2.5% above inflation, free public community health centres offering GP, dental and allied health services, and transitioning private hospitals into public ownership.
Urban planning and housing density
No personal statement from Gunawardana on zoning, density or urban planning was found. The statewide Victorian Socialists platform proposes permanently protecting Melbourne's Green Wedges and mandating 30% tree canopy coverage in all suburbs (doubled in the west).
The same platform would protect heritage buildings and streetscapes with no-compensation public acquisition as a penalty for unlawful demolition, and require a 30% affordable/public housing quota on new developments.
Climate and energy transition
No personal statement from Gunawardana on energy or climate policy was found. The statewide Victorian Socialists platform targets a 75% cut in emissions below 2005 levels by 2030, a zero-carbon economy by 2035, and closing Loy Yang A by 2030 (five years ahead of its current 2035 closure date).
On energy specifically, the platform calls for progressively nationalising Victoria's electricity distribution, generation and retail without shareholder compensation, and accelerating toward a 100 percent renewable grid, though it names no renewable percentage target or timeline.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
No personal statement from Gunawardana on Treaty or First Nations policy was found. The statewide Victorian Socialists platform pledges to "extend the powers of state-wide and local Treaties" and support increased First Nations control.
It also proposes a reparations tax on commercial and investment properties directed toward First Nations land restitution, implementing the Yoorook Justice Commission's recommendations, and recognising 26 January as Invasion Day.
Regional and rural Victoria
No personal statement from Gunawardana on regional or rural issues was found, consistent with Berwick being an outer-metropolitan seat with no rural component. The statewide Victorian Socialists platform proposes a dedicated rural roads maintenance program.
That platform also proposes building public housing and services in "attractive worker towns" to counter regional population decline, but names no specific water-security or native-forest-logging-transition measures.
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.
Track record & prior candidacies
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Per the Victorian Electoral Commission's own guidance (vec.vic.gov.au, accessed 2026-09-05), 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 then calculated against the candidate's audited statement of campaign expenditure and their first-preference vote count, paid up to legislated maximums (separate for Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council) that are indexed annually to CPI — the candidate receives whichever is lower, their actual audited spend or the capped maximum.
This eligibility rule was reconfirmed unchanged as of September 2026 despite the High Court's Hopper v Victoria [2026] HCA 11 decision (15 April 2026), which struck down Victoria's donation-cap regime, and the Electoral Further Amendment Act 2026 passed in response: the VEC's political-finance-laws-2026 page states that Act left public-funding eligibility itself untouched, changing only donation caps/disclosure thresholds and administrative-expenditure funding amounts. The VEC's real-time Disclosures Portal itself went offline for review following the High Court decision, which is why no donation disclosure could be located for this or most other candidates at this time.