Legislative Assembly · District of Ivanhoe
Ben Milne
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Ivanhoe›
Ivanhoe is a very safe Labor seat in Melbourne's north-east (Heidelberg, Ivanhoe, Eaglemont, Rosanna, Macleod), won by Anthony Carbines with a 13-point two-party-preferred margin in 2022. Carbines has held the seat since 2010 and is now Minister for Artificial Intelligence and the Digital Economy and Leader of the House, among other portfolios, after the 4 August 2026 ministry. The 2026 field is six candidates: Labor's Carbines, the Liberals' Oscar Lopez, the Greens' Nina Crawley, the Victorian Socialists' Ben Milne, One Nation's Wayne Hutchinson and independent Michelle Kennedy. At the 2022 election Carbines won 42.7% of first preferences and 63.0% two-party-preferred.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Wealth inequality and the cost of living, taking on landlords, developers and banks, access to essential services and affordable housing.
"In a wealthy society like Australia, there's no reason anyone should be doing it tough — what's missing is the political will to fight against vested interests."
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 wealth inequality and cost-of-living pressure in Ivanhoe as priorities, and argues nurses and carers deserve better living standards.
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
A summary of the party's policing policy says it would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16; nothing is attributed to Milne personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Names affordable housing and taking on landlords, developers and banks as priorities, and is a renter himself.
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 centres on new revenue including a 10% annual billionaire wealth tax; nothing on debt levels is attributed to Milne.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would make public transport free; nothing is attributed to Milne 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
A summary of the party's education policy says it would provide universal preschool and childcare and end NAPLAN testing; nothing is attributed to Milne personally.
Health and healthcare access
Wants access to essential services, and cites the pay and conditions of nurses and carers.
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 policies says it would move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy; nothing is attributed to Milne 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 Milne 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.
Milne runs on the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform, and his priorities match it. SSelf-stated — VS-MILNE, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Ben Milne"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
His profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — VS-MILNEVictorian Socialists, "Ben Milne"View source
He is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Ivanhoe results, where no Victorian Socialists candidate is listed. VVerified — WIKI-IVANHOE-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Ivanhoe"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.
Milne has not previously contested an election, so he has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest.