Legislative Assembly · District of Box Hill
Paul Hamer
Last verified 21 Sept 2026
Seat context — Box Hill›
Box Hill is a 29 km² district in Melbourne's east covering Box Hill, Box Hill North, Box Hill South, Mont Albert, Mont Albert North, most of Blackburn, and parts of Balwyn North, Burwood, Burwood East and Surrey Hills. It has been held by Labor's Paul Hamer since he won it from the Liberals in 2018. At the 2022 election he was re-elected with 57.2% of the two-party-preferred vote, a 7.2-point margin.
Background
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Box Hill since 24 November 2018; currently Minister for Roads and Road Safety (appointed 4 August 2026), having first been appointed Minister for Local Government, Corrections and Youth Justice on 15 April 2026. VVerified — PARLIAMENT-HAMER, ABC-RESHUFFLE-APR26, ABC-CARROLL-AUG26Parliament of Victoria, "Paul Hamer - Member Profile"View sourceABC News, "New ministers appointed to Jacinta Allan's cabinet in Victoria after resignations" (14 Apr 2026)View sourceABC News, "New Victorian Premier Ben Carroll fills one of three vacancies in cabinet" (3 Aug 2026)View source
Before entering Parliament in 2018 he worked as an engineer and project manager in infrastructure planning roles in both the public and private sectors. SSelf-stated — PH-ABOUTMEPaul Hamer MP (campaign), "About Me / homepage"View source
Third-party profiles describe a transport-sector career spanning local and state government, private industry and consulting work before politics. RReported — ABC-BOXHILL-2018, ROTARY-CANTERBURYABC News, "Victorian election 2018 guide — Box Hill candidate profile" (2018)View sourceRotary Club of Canterbury, "Last Week's Speaker - Paul Hamer"View source
"I grew up in the Box Hill electorate, went to school in Burwood and have lived most of my life in the eastern suburbs." SSelf-stated — PH-ABOUTMEPaul Hamer MP (campaign), "About Me / homepage"View source
He is married and has two young children. SSelf-stated — PH-ABOUTMEPaul Hamer MP (campaign), "About Me / homepage"View source
A 2018 election-guide profile reported he was 41 at the time and had lived in the eastern suburbs most of his life. RReported — ABC-BOXHILL-2018ABC News, "Victorian election 2018 guide — Box Hill candidate profile" (2018)View source
A separate third-party account states he grew up specifically in North Balwyn, within the broader Box Hill area. RReported — ROTARY-CANTERBURYRotary Club of Canterbury, "Last Week's Speaker - Paul Hamer"View source
In his first speech to Parliament he said his father survived the Holocaust and that "after the horrors of the Holocaust it was Australia that gave my family a home," and that he was the first member of his family to join a political party. SSelf-stated — WP-HAMERWikipedia, "Paul Hamer"View source
Holds a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Melbourne. RReported — ABC-BOXHILL-2018, ROTARY-CANTERBURYABC News, "Victorian election 2018 guide — Box Hill candidate profile" (2018)View sourceRotary Club of Canterbury, "Last Week's Speaker - Paul Hamer"View source
Also reported to hold a Master of Engineering Science from Monash University; this specific degree was not independently corroborated by a second source. RReported — ABC-BOXHILL-2018ABC News, "Victorian election 2018 guide — Box Hill candidate profile" (2018)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.
Bring more jobs to Melbourne's east, deliver better education with upgrades to local schools, and world-class health care including funding for public hospitals.
Build the transport services and infrastructure the electorate needs, and protect the precious local environment.
"We have listened to the local community and you can see the result in the new draft plans. Box Hill is a great place for families, and we will make it even better, while giving our kids a fairer shot at living here."
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
As part of the Allan government, championed the $250 Power Saving Bonus as effective, immediate cost-of-living relief, noting his office helped hundreds of Box Hill residents access it.
Campaign material also cites the Sick Pay Guarantee (38 hours a year for casual workers), Free Kinder (up to $2,500 saved per child), Free TAFE (70+ courses) and capped council rates — statewide Labor programs rather than Box Hill-specific initiatives.
Crime and community safety
Served as Minister for Corrections from 15 April to 4 August 2026, during which he moved amendments to the Corrections Amendment Bill 2026, including validating certain actions taken without proper delegations between 29 April 2024 and 18 May 2026.
Participated in the second-reading debate on the Bail Amendment (Tough Bail) Bill 2025, which introduced tougher bail laws; the specific content of his remarks was not available in the record reviewed.
Housing affordability and supply
Publicly backed the Suburban Rail Loop-linked Box Hill precinct housing plan, part of a statewide 70,000-home announcement, saying the new draft plans give "our kids a fairer shot at living here," with specific commitments to a Nelson–Thurston bridge and a walking path between Union and Laburnum stations.
Serves as Co-Chair of the Box Hill Precinct Reference Group for the Suburban Rail Loop, the body overseeing housing and precinct planning around the Box Hill SRL station.
Box Hill is designated a Metropolitan Activity Centre and SRL Precinct under Plan for Victoria, targeted for substantial housing growth around the activity centre.
State government debt and fiscal management
In the 2024–25 budget papers debate, cited Victoria's economic record in general terms — 885,000 jobs created and the economy grown to over $600 billion since Labor's election — without addressing state debt levels or future tax settings directly.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Now Minister for Roads and Road Safety (from 4 August 2026), giving him direct portfolio responsibility for state road infrastructure and safety policy.
Claims credit for level crossing removals at Union Road (Surrey Hills) and Mont Albert Road, delivered two years ahead of schedule in 2023, plus Suburban Rail Loop commencement and increased bus frequency on routes 733/767 to Deakin University.
Raised in a formal adjournment debate that Box Hill's open space per person will fall to 16 square metres by 2041 — a 67% reduction from 2001 levels — asking the Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop to work with Whitehorse council on open space delivery, and noting the council holds $58 million in unspent open-space levies.
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
Claims $45 million invested in local school infrastructure over four years, plus school multipurpose gyms and sporting-club upgrades.
Raised school and sporting-club infrastructure funding in the 2024–25 budget papers debate.
"It is terrific to see the uptake of Free TAFE courses at Box Hill Institute this year" — said at a joint visit with the Minister for Training and Skills to launch a jobs board and highlight a Free TAFE Certificate IV in Cyber Security course at Box Hill Institute.
Opened Box Hill Institute's newly reopened Fountains training restaurant at the Elgar campus, a $1.6 million government-funded 150-seat facility.
Health and healthcare access
Campaign material claims a Priority Primary Care Centre operating in Box Hill seven days a week for up to 16 hours a day, alongside statewide claims of 13,000 additional nurses and midwives and expanded elective-surgery capacity via the Bellbird Private Hospital conversion.
Publicised Box Hill Hospital's new MRI machine, flagging that without a federal Medicare MRI licence for Eastern Health, patients still face out-of-pocket costs.
Box Hill Hospital's $447.5 million clinical services redevelopment — a larger emergency department, more ICU capacity and extra theatres — was funded and completed under Labor, opening in August 2014; a standing electorate asset rather than a 2026-specific announcement.
Urban planning and housing density
Raised the projected collapse in Box Hill's open space per capita — to 16 square metres by 2041 — directly tied to density growth around the activity centre, in a formal adjournment matter to the Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop.
Box Hill's Transit City Activity Centre Structure Plan (2007) is under revision via the state's Plan for Victoria/SRL precinct-planning process, managing density, job growth and affordable housing near the activity centre; the council's own 2021 planning scheme amendment request was denied in September 2022 in favour of state-led SRL precinct planning.
Climate and energy transition
Described the Minister for the State Electricity Commission as having "done more for climate action than any other minister in any other jurisdiction in the nation," and praised Victoria's "fantastic solar resources" and technological readiness to harness renewables reliably.
In the same speech, cited Victoria's targets of 95% renewable energy by 2035 and net zero by 2045, emissions reduction of 75–80% by 2035, a rollout of 100 neighbourhood batteries, and government battery investment outside Geelong.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
No personal Hansard contribution or public statement from Hamer on the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025 or the Gellung Warl representative body was found despite checking the bill's debate across multiple sitting days; as a government MP he was part of the Allan government that legislated it.
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.
Co-Chair of the Box Hill Precinct Reference Group for the Suburban Rail Loop East underground station at Box Hill, sited in the activity centre to link retail, health and medical services to the Belgrave/Lilydale line. SSelf-stated — BBV-SRLBOXHILLBig Build Victoria / Suburban Rail Loop Authority, "SRL East at Box Hill — fact sheet"View source
Raised Box Hill's shrinking open space — projected at 16 square metres per person by 2041, a 67% fall from 2001 — in a formal adjournment matter, alongside Whitehorse council's $58 million in unspent open-space levies. VVerified — HANS-OPENSPACEParliament of Victoria (Hansard), "Adjournment debate — Box Hill open space, 28 May 2024" (28 May 2024)View source
Level crossing removals at Union Road, Surrey Hills, and Mont Albert Road, delivered two years ahead of schedule in 2023. SSelf-stated — PH-ABOUTMEPaul Hamer MP (campaign), "About Me / homepage"View source
Raised Box Hill Hospital's lack of a federal Medicare MRI licence for Eastern Health, meaning patients still face out-of-pocket costs despite a new machine. SSelf-stated — PH-FB-MRIPaul Hamer MP (Facebook), "Box Hill Hospital MRI licence video"View source
The hospital's $447.5 million clinical services redevelopment opened in August 2014, a standing electorate asset. VVerified — WP-BHHOSPITALWikipedia, "Box Hill Hospital"View source
Box Hill Institute's Elgar campus Fountains training restaurant reopening ($1.6 million) and a Free TAFE Certificate IV in Cyber Security course launch. SSelf-stated — PH-FOUNTAINS, PH-TAFEJOBSPaul Hamer MP, "Box Hill Institute's Fountains Restaurant Reopens For World-Class Hospitality Experts"View sourcePremier of Victoria, "Jobs Board To Provide One-Stop-Shop For TAFE Jobs"View source
Raised concern in an adjournment debate about a Liberal–One Nation preference alliance ahead of the 2026 election affecting multicultural communities in Box Hill. SSelf-stated — HANS-MULTICULTURALParliament of Victoria (Hansard), "Adjournment debate — Box Hill electorate multicultural communities, 19 March 2026" (19 Mar 2026)View source
No break from Victorian Labor's party line was found on any issue researched — his positions on cost-of-living relief, bail and corrections law, SEC renewables, and housing/density around Box Hill all track standard government and party positions.
His ministerial roles — Local Government, Corrections and Youth Justice from April to August 2026, then Roads and Road Safety from August 2026 — place him inside the government making these policies, rather than merely endorsing them from the backbench. VVerified — PARLIAMENT-HAMER, ABC-CARROLL-AUG26Parliament of Victoria, "Paul Hamer - Member Profile"View sourceABC News, "New Victorian Premier Ben Carroll fills one of three vacancies in cabinet" (3 Aug 2026)View source
Track record & prior candidacies
First elected to the Legislative Assembly seat of Box Hill on 24 November 2018, defeating sitting Liberal MP Robert Clark and becoming the first Labor MP to hold Box Hill in 26 years. VVerified — PARLIAMENT-HAMER, WP-HAMERParliament of Victoria, "Paul Hamer - Member Profile"View sourceWikipedia, "Paul Hamer"View source
Re-elected at the 2022 Victorian state election with 57.2% two-party-preferred (25,383 votes) against Liberal candidate Nicole Werner's 42.8%, a 4.1-point swing to Labor. VVerified — VEC-BOXHILL2022, WP-HAMERVictorian Electoral Commission, "2022 State Election Results — Box Hill District Results" (2022)View sourceWikipedia, "Paul Hamer"View source
Continuous service in the Legislative Assembly from 24 November 2018 to the present, with no break between the 2018 and 2022 terms; delivered his inaugural speech on 20 February 2019. VVerified — PARLIAMENT-HAMERParliament of Victoria, "Paul Hamer - Member Profile"View source
Member of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC), active by October 2023; sat on the PAEC subcommittee that ran the 2023 recruitment process for Victoria's Parliamentary Budget Officer. VVerified — HANS-PAECParliament of Victoria (Hansard), "Public Accounts and Estimates Committee — statements on parliamentary committee reports, 18 October 2023" (18 Oct 2023)View source
Reported to have been Parliamentary Secretary for Jobs from December 2024, succeeding Bronwyn Halfpenny, who moved to Parliamentary Secretary for Roads. RReported — ABC-RESHUFFLE-APR26ABC News, "New ministers appointed to Jacinta Allan's cabinet in Victoria after resignations" (14 Apr 2026)View source
Reported to have served on the Legislative Assembly's panel of Acting Speakers since 2023. RReported — ABC-RESHUFFLE-APR26ABC News, "New ministers appointed to Jacinta Allan's cabinet in Victoria after resignations" (14 Apr 2026)View source
First ministerial appointment: sworn in 15 April 2026 as Minister for Local Government, Minister for Corrections and Minister for Youth Justice, in a Premier Jacinta Allan cabinet reshuffle triggered by the resignations of ministers Mary Anne Thomas, Danny Pearson and Gayle Tierney. VVerified — PARLIAMENT-HAMER, ABC-RESHUFFLE-APR26Parliament of Victoria, "Paul Hamer - Member Profile"View sourceABC News, "New ministers appointed to Jacinta Allan's cabinet in Victoria after resignations" (14 Apr 2026)View source
Currently Minister for Roads and Road Safety, from 4 August 2026, under Premier Ben Carroll following Jacinta Allan's resignation as Premier in an August 2026 leadership change; the Local Government portfolio passed instead to Tim Richardson in the same reshuffle. VVerified — PARLIAMENT-HAMER, ABC-CARROLL-AUG26Parliament of Victoria, "Paul Hamer - Member Profile"View sourceABC News, "New Victorian Premier Ben Carroll fills one of three vacancies in cabinet" (3 Aug 2026)View source
Spoke in the second-reading debate on the Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Bill 2023 on 4 October 2023, citing 2023 incidents including a Nazi salute performed on Parliament's own steps. VVerified — HANS-NAZISALUTEParliament of Victoria (Hansard), "Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Bill 2023 — second reading, 4 October 2023" (4 Oct 2023)View source
Called such displays "the most confronting and in-your-face way of trying to demonstrate this hatred and vilification," framing opposition to them as a collective responsibility — a stance he has connected to his father's survival of the Holocaust. VVerified — HANS-NAZISALUTE, WP-HAMERParliament of Victoria (Hansard), "Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Salute Prohibition) Bill 2023 — second reading, 4 October 2023" (4 Oct 2023)View sourceWikipedia, "Paul Hamer"View source
During debate on the Statute Law Amendment (References to the Sovereign) Bill 2023 on 16 August 2023, stated on the record: "I am also a committed republican." VVerified — HANS-REPUBLICANParliament of Victoria (Hansard), "Statute Law Amendment (References to the Sovereign) Bill 2023 — debate, 16 August 2023" (16 Aug 2023)View source
As a PAEC subcommittee member, was involved in the committee's 2023 process that appointed Xavier Rimmer as Victoria's Parliamentary Budget Officer. VVerified — HANS-PAECParliament of Victoria (Hansard), "Public Accounts and Estimates Committee — statements on parliamentary committee reports, 18 October 2023" (18 Oct 2023)View source
Regularly uses constituency questions and members' statements to press ministers on Box Hill-specific issues, such as asking the Minister for Energy and Resources how many Box Hill households used the power-saving bonus. VVerified — HANS-POWERBONUSParliament of Victoria (Hansard), "Constituency question — Box Hill electorate power saving bonus, 31 May 2023" (31 May 2023)View source
Criticised Whitehorse City Council in a members' statement for outsourcing in-home care affecting around 2,500 residents without consultation, and for related service-centre and pool outsourcing. VVerified — HANS-COUNCILCRITICParliament of Victoria (Hansard), "Members' Statements — Whitehorse City Council, 2 May 2023" (2 May 2023)View source
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Paul Hamer would be eligible for Victorian state election public campaign funding if he receives at least 4% of first-preference votes in Box Hill, or is elected. Funding is then calculated against his audited campaign-expenditure statement and vote count, up to legislated maximums.
The current legislated maximum is $7.70 per first-preference vote for Legislative Assembly candidates ($3.84 per vote for Legislative Council candidates), indexed annually on 1 July per the Consumer Price Index — the 1 July 2026 indexation round also set the political-donation disclosure threshold at $1,290 and the general donation cap at $5,190 (rising to $7,740 from 29 November 2026, after the election), following amendments made by the Electoral Further Amendment Act 2026 (per the VEC's own funding guidance and indexation page, accessed 2026-09-21).