Legislative Assembly · District of Eureka
Michaela Settle
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Eureka›
Eureka is a Legislative Assembly seat covering east/south-east Ballarat suburbs (Eureka, Brown Hill, Ballarat East, Golden Point, Canadian, Mount Pleasant, Mount Clear, Mount Helen and Buninyong) plus large parts of the Golden Plains and Moorabool shires. It was created by the 2021 redistribution and first contested at the 2022 election, largely replacing the abolished district of Buninyong. Labor's Michaela Settle, the sitting Member for Buninyong, recontested and won the new seat of Eureka in 2022, defeating the Liberal candidate 57.2%-42.8% (a 14.3-point margin). The 2026 field is seven candidates: Labor's Michaela Settle, the Liberals' Emma Muir, the Greens' Sam McColl, One Nation's Paul Ballinger, Family First's Ian Harkness, the Animal Justice Party's Wendy Morrison and the Victorian Socialists' Andy Raven. At the 2022 election Settle won 41.0% of first preferences.
Background
Operated a family sheep farm in Ararat for more than a decade, retrained at TAFE, and worked at Ballarat Community Health. VVerified — PARL-SETTLEParliament of Victoria, "Michaela Settle - Member profile"View source
Wikipedia says she worked in public relations and managed the family farm before becoming marketing manager at Ballarat Community Health. RReported — WIKI-SETTLEWikipedia, "Michaela Settle"View source
Has lived in regional Victoria for most of her life, is a single mother of two sons and has an electorate office at 2/3 Peel Street South, Bakery Hill. VVerified — PARL-SETTLEParliament of Victoria, "Michaela Settle - Member profile"View source
Her family still owns and manages the Ararat farm. RReported — STOCKLAND-SETTLEStock & Land, "Ararat farmer appointed Agriculture Minister in cabinet reshuffle"View source
Holds a TAFE qualification; the profile does not say in what. VVerified — PARL-SETTLEParliament of Victoria, "Michaela Settle - Member profile"View source
Wikipedia says she studied Professional Writing and Editing at Federation University and TAFE. RReported — WIKI-SETTLEWikipedia, "Michaela Settle"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.
Regional equity: "I will always be waving the flag for regional Victoria", with adequate services and infrastructure close to home.
Community and strong local services in regional towns and cities.
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 Settle 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 Settle 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 Settle 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 Settle 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 Settle 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 Settle 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 Settle personally.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
As Minister for Water she holds the water portfolio, added on 4 August 2026.
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, targets 65% renewables by 2030 and 95% by 2035; nothing is attributed to Settle 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 Settle personally.
Regional and rural Victoria
Is Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Water.
Said on becoming Agriculture Minister: "I will always be waving the flag for regional Victoria."
Says she wants to preserve what makes regional towns close-knit while giving people the same opportunities as those in metropolitan areas.
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
First elected for Buninyong in 2018 with 49.1% of first preferences. RReported — WIKI-SETTLEWikipedia, "Michaela Settle"View source
Won the new seat of Eureka in 2022 with 41.0% of first preferences and 57.2% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Paul Tatchell. VVerified — WIKI-EUREKA-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Eureka"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.
As the sitting member, Settle met the "elected" limb of the test at the 2022 election, so her Eureka campaign qualified for public funding.