Legislative Assembly · District of Carrum
Reema Ababneh
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Carrum›
Carrum covers nine bayside/outer south-eastern Melbourne suburbs — Bangholme, Bonbeach, Carrum, Carrum Downs, Lyndhurst, Patterson Lakes, Sandhurst, Seaford and Skye. It has been held by Labor's Sonya Kilkenny since the 2014 election; at the 2022 election she was re-elected with a two-candidate-preferred result of 59.8% to 40.2% (a 9.8-point margin). The district was established in 1976 and has traditionally been a Labor-leaning, working-class seat.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
"Everyone should have access to secure housing, quality health care and education, and a decent standard of living."
Rising rents, stagnant wages and cost-of-living pressures; opposing racism and the far right.
"Real change has never come from waiting for politicians to do the right thing. It has come from people organising."
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 stagnant wages and cost-of-living pressures as priorities.
The party's fiscal policy would fund services with a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires, a 20% bank profits tax and a 20% super-profits tax on retailers earning over $100 million.
Crime and community safety
Opposes racism and far-right politics.
A summary of the party's policing policy says it would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16.
Housing affordability and supply
Names secure housing and rising rents as priorities.
The party's housing policy would cut all residential rents 25% then freeze them for five years, and build at least 15,000 public housing units a year for ten years.
State government debt and fiscal management
The party's fiscal policy focuses on new revenue, including a 10% annual billionaire wealth tax; nothing on debt levels is attributed to Ababneh.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would make public transport free; nothing is attributed to Ababneh personally.
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
Names quality education as a priority.
A summary of the party's education policy says it would provide universal preschool and childcare and end NAPLAN testing.
Health and healthcare access
Names quality health care as a priority.
A summary of the party's health policy says it would fully fund public healthcare and expand free community clinics.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
A summary of the party's energy and climate policies says it would move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy; nothing is attributed to Ababneh personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
A summary of the party's First Nations policy says it wants a treaty with material change beyond symbolic recognition; nothing is attributed to Ababneh personally.
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.
Ababneh runs on the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform, and her priorities (housing, health, education, wages, anti-racism) match it. SSelf-stated — VS-RABABNEH, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Reema Ababneh"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
No point of divergence was found; her profile has little personal detail, so most positions above are the party's.
Track record & prior candidacies
Her candidate profile mentions no prior campaign. SSelf-stated — VS-RABABNEHVictorian Socialists, "Reema Ababneh"View source
She is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Carrum results, where no Victorian Socialists candidate is listed. VVerified — WIKI-CARRUM-RESULTSWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Carrum"View 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.
Ababneh has not previously contested an election, so she has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest.