Legislative Assembly · District of Caulfield
Michael Abelman
Last verified 11 Oct 2026
Seat context — Caulfield›
Caulfield covers the suburbs of Caulfield, Caulfield North, Caulfield South, Caulfield East, Elsternwick, Gardenvale, Ripponlea and Balaclava, plus parts of St Kilda East, St Kilda, Glen Huntly and Ormond in inner south-east Melbourne. Created in 1927, it has been held by the Liberal Party continuously since 1979. At the 2022 election David Southwick was re-elected with 52.07% of the two-candidate-preferred vote against Labor, a margin of roughly 2.1 points.
Background
Currently works as a community pharmacist, per his One Nation profile and the party's candidates page. SSelf-stated — ON-ABELMAN, ON-CANDOne Nation Victoria, "michael abelman"View sourceOne Nation Victoria, "Candidates"View source
In 2022, as a Liberal Democrats candidate, he was described by the Australian Jewish News as a registered pharmacist. RReported — AJN-2022Australian Jewish News, "'We need to wake up' (Mia Gardiner)" (21 Nov 2022)View source
Says he has owned and operated three pharmacies and an import and wholesale business, and has worked as a public servant. SSelf-stated — ON-ABELMANOne Nation Victoria, "michael abelman"View source
Says he has worked for the Victorian Health Department, giving him firsthand experience of how the public service makes decisions and manages public money. Not independently verified; no dates or role title given. SSelf-stated — ON-ABELMANOne Nation Victoria, "michael abelman"View source
Says he volunteers his time teaching street-safety skills to children and adults in the community. SSelf-stated — ON-ABELMANOne Nation Victoria, "michael abelman"View source
No elected office or local council term found in sources reviewed. His only found political activity is as a candidate (see Previous candidacies). SSelf-stated — ON-ABELMAN, AJN-2022One Nation Victoria, "michael abelman"View sourceAustralian Jewish News, "'We need to wake up' (Mia Gardiner)" (21 Nov 2022)View source
Says he has lived in East St Kilda and now lives in Caulfield, giving him an understanding of local concerns about community safety and distrust of the state government. SSelf-stated — ON-ABELMANOne Nation Victoria, "michael abelman"View source
Describes himself as the son of World War II refugees and a father of three and grandfather of two; the party's candidates page calls him "a Caulfield local." SSelf-stated — ON-ABELMAN, ON-CANDOne Nation Victoria, "michael abelman"View sourceOne Nation Victoria, "Candidates"View source
In 2022 he said he was raised Jewish and that it matters the Jewish community is represented by the Caulfield candidate, but that it is not the only demographic in the electorate. SSelf-stated — AJN-2022Australian Jewish News, "'We need to wake up' (Mia Gardiner)" (21 Nov 2022)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.
Says he is standing out of deep concern at the decline of what he believes was once one of the country's strongest states economically, culturally and socially.
The party's candidates page summarises his platform as "safer communities, responsible use of public money and a state government Victorians can trust."
Cites community safety and growing distrust in the state government as local concerns.
Says the COVID-19 vaccine mandates and extended lockdowns drew him into public life, citing the medical, psychological and physical effects of government decisions, especially on children who lost years of development and social interaction.
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
No candidate-specific statement found. One Nation Victoria's party platform would wind back Labor's land tax increases on rental properties and small property owners (without promising to scrap the tax), lift the payroll tax threshold, and abolish the 10% stamp duty on home, contents and car insurance.
It also promises to review every government fee, tax and charge that adds to the cost of a new home.
Crime and community safety
Names community safety as a local concern and says he volunteers teaching street-safety skills; no specific policy position of his own found.
At its October 2026 campaign launch the party pledged three new magistrate courts, a 24/7 bail court and public listing of every bail decision, plus more police resources and harsher treatment of repeat offenders, per AAP coverage. Its own crime policy page is marked "update in progress."
Housing affordability and supply
Party platform: release under-used government land, put a legal time limit on planning and building approvals, free up granny flats and spare-room rentals, and raise the foreign purchaser duty on residential property.
The party attributes rent pressure partly to rapid population growth driven by net overseas migration, and proposes incentives for private and community providers to deliver low-cost housing.
In 2022, as a Liberal Democrats candidate, he said he wanted to scrap stamp duty and release more land for housing.
State government debt and fiscal management
Lists "responsible use of public money" as a theme and points to his Health Department experience; no specific debt or budget measure of his own found.
The party says it would fund its promises by cutting the Suburban Rail Loop and the First Nations treaty, with no costings in the launch coverage. Its fiscal management policy page is marked "update in progress."
The party's cost-of-living page says Victoria's debt is the highest in the country.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Party platform would cancel the VNI West and Western Renewables Link transmission projects and other large-scale transmission projects.
Per AAP launch coverage, the party would cut the Suburban Rail Loop to fund its promises; no candidate-specific statement found.
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
In 2022 he said "I want to fund students not institutions to create competition."
The party platform now includes school vouchers so public funding follows the student, replacing the Victorian Curriculum with a sequenced, knowledge-rich syllabus, systematic phonics, and expanded trade schools.
It also promises workable behaviour protocols in every school and more specialist and behaviour support settings.
Health and healthcare access
A community pharmacist and former Health Department worker by his own account; says the COVID-19 mandates and lockdowns pushed him into public life.
Party platform: a real-time statewide waiting-list view, public targets to treat Category 1 and 2 patients within clinically recommended times, an end to chronic ambulance ramping, and 24/7 regional emergency departments.
It would also cut administrative duplication and abolish standalone DEI and ESG programs, redirecting savings to frontline care.
Urban planning and housing density
Party platform would require genuine community consultation before high-rise development is imposed on established suburbs. No candidate-specific statement found.
Climate and energy transition
In 2022, as a Liberal Democrats candidate, he said he wanted to legalise nuclear power.
Party platform: scrap all net-zero targets and subsidies, repeal the Nuclear Activities (Prohibitions) Act 1983, reverse the ban on gas connections in new homes, and put Victorian gas demand first.
It would also cancel VNI West and the Western Renewables Link, and amend National Electricity Market rules so coal-fired power is not artificially priced up.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
No candidate or detailed party policy on Treaty found. AAP launch coverage reports the party would fund promises by cutting the First Nations treaty, without detail on how.
Regional and rural Victoria
No statement by the candidate found, which fits an inner-suburban seat. The party platform includes restricting water trading to farmers with land to irrigate, reinstating the 1,500 GL buyback cap, and banning industrial solar, wind, battery and transmission projects on irrigated, flood-prone or bushfire-prone land.
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.
Names community safety and growing distrust in the state government as the main local concerns in Caulfield and East St Kilda. SSelf-stated — ON-ABELMANOne Nation Victoria, "michael abelman"View source
No Caulfield-specific policy, local project or campaign material beyond his party profile page found as of 2026-10-11. SSelf-stated — ON-ABELMAN, ON-CANDOne Nation Victoria, "michael abelman"View sourceOne Nation Victoria, "Candidates"View source
Standing under One Nation's Victorian platform. His party profile and the party's issues pages align on cost of living, health, education, energy and community safety, and no break from party policy was found. SSelf-stated — ON-ABELMAN, ON-CAND, ON-ENERGYOne Nation Victoria, "michael abelman"View sourceOne Nation Victoria, "Candidates"View sourceOne Nation Victoria, "Energy policy"View source
Notably, his 2022 and 2025 candidacies were for the Liberal Democrats and Libertarians, and some 2022 positions (nuclear power, student-following funding, scrapping stamp duty) overlap with current One Nation policy. SSelf-stated — AJN-2022Australian Jewish News, "'We need to wake up' (Mia Gardiner)" (21 Nov 2022)View source
Track record & prior candidacies
2022 Victorian state election, Caulfield: Liberal Democrats, 739 first-preference votes (1.8%); not elected. VVerified — TR-CAULThe Tally Room, "Caulfield — 2026 Victorian state election"View source
2025 federal election, Macnamara: Libertarian, 1,299 first-preference votes (1.3%); not elected. VVerified — ABC-MAC25ABC News, "Macnamara (Key Seat) Federal Election 2025 Results"View source
2026 Victorian state election, Caulfield, is his third run in four years and his first for One Nation. VVerified — TR-CAUL, ABC-MAC25, ON-ABELMANThe Tally Room, "Caulfield — 2026 Victorian state election"View sourceABC News, "Macnamara (Key Seat) Federal Election 2025 Results"View sourceOne Nation Victoria, "michael abelman"View source
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Eligibility under the Electoral Act 2002 has been tied to a candidate winning at least 4% of first-preference votes in their contest (or being elected), with payments capped at audited campaign expenditure. The VEC's indexation page (accessed 2026-10-11) lists the 2026-27 rate as $7.70 per first-preference vote for lower house candidates.
The VEC notes Victoria's political finance laws changed under the Electoral Further Amendment Act 2026, and the 4% threshold was not re-confirmed against the amended law. For reference, Abelman won 1.8% in Caulfield in 2022 (see Previous candidacies), below that threshold.