Legislative Council · Eastern Victoria Region
Max Forward
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Eastern Victoria Region›
Eastern Victoria elects 5 MLCs and comprises 11 Legislative Assembly districts spanning the Mornington Peninsula through the Dandenongs to Gippsland — Bass, Evelyn, Gippsland East, Gippsland South, Hastings, Monbulk, Mornington, Morwell, Narracan, Nepean and Pakenham. A bill abolishing group voting tickets for the Council has passed the Assembly and is before the Legislative Council's 11–13 August sitting.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
A new hospital in Warragul and better access to healthcare and education, housing accessibility, anti-fascist politics and working-class interests.
"Our region has seen repeated failed promises from both the Labor Party and the Liberals to build a new hospital in Warragul, and to improve access to healthcare and education."
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
The party's fiscal policy would fund services with a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires and a 20% bank profits tax; nothing on cost of living is attributed to Max Forward personally.
Crime and community safety
Campaigns against racism and fascism.
Housing affordability and supply
Names housing accessibility as a priority.
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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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
Wants education improved across the region.
A summary of the party's education policy says it would provide universal preschool and childcare and end NAPLAN testing.
Health and healthcare access
Wants better healthcare access and a new hospital in Warragul, and is a nursing student and nurses' union member.
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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Regional and rural Victoria
Says both Labor and the Liberals have repeatedly failed on promises for a Warragul hospital.
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 priorities match the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform. SSelf-stated — VS-MF, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Max Forward"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
Wikipedia's 2026 candidates table lists them under the Eastern Victoria Region. 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.
Max Forward has not previously contested a state election on the sources retrieved, and the Victorian Socialists's earlier results in this region were not retrieved.