Legislative Assembly · District of Eildon
Kevin Gibson
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Eildon›
Eildon is a Legislative Assembly district covering about 10,061 km² of central and north-eastern Victoria, roughly one to two hours' drive from Melbourne. It takes in the Shire of Mansfield and Murrindindi Shire in full, plus parts of the Yarra Ranges and Nillumbik council areas, with major towns including Alexandra, Eildon, Healesville, Kinglake, Mansfield, Marysville, Warburton, Yarra Glen and Yea. The seat was created in the 2013 electoral redistribution, effective at the 2014 state election, from the former districts of Seymour and Benalla, and has been held continuously since then by Liberal MP Cindy McLeish, who represented the predecessor seat of Seymour from 2010. McLeish was re-elected at the 2022 election with a 57.0%-43.0% two-candidate-preferred margin over Labor, a 5.9-point swing to the Coalition. The 2026 field was five candidates: the Liberals' Cindy McLeish, Labor's Kevin Gibson, the Greens' Talia Gulpilil, One Nation's Tim Barber and the Animal Justice Party's Chloe Bond; The Tally Room notes One Nation could pose a serious threat to the Liberals here. The Victorian Socialists have since listed Dylan Little as their candidate. At the 2022 election McLeish won 47.4% of first preferences.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
No personal statement of priorities was found.
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
Labor's 2026 platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes a vehicle registration rebate of up to $186, half-price public transport fares from June to December 2026 and free midday electricity from October 2026; nothing is attributed to Gibson personally.
Crime and community safety
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes the 2025 bail law changes; nothing is attributed to Gibson personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, is built around the Big Housing Build; nothing is attributed to Gibson personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, projects operating surpluses of $700 million in 2025-26 and $1 billion in 2026-27; nothing is attributed to Gibson personally.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $1.04 billion for roads; nothing is attributed to Gibson 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
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $5.5 billion of new education investment in 2026-27 and the Free TAFE guarantee; nothing is attributed to Gibson personally.
Health and healthcare access
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $3.9 billion of new health investment in 2026-27; nothing is attributed to Gibson personally.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, targets 65% renewables by 2030 and 95% by 2035; nothing is attributed to Gibson personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, cites implementation of the Statewide Treaty Act 2025; nothing is attributed to Gibson 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.
Track record & prior candidacies
He is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Eildon results; Labor's candidates were Sally Brennan (35.77%) and Jane Judd (29.0%). VVerified — WIKI-EILDON-RESULTSWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Eildon"View source
Whether he has contested other elections was not established.
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.
Gibson's own first-preference history could not be established. Labor's 2022 Eildon candidate polled 29.0%.