Legislative Assembly · District of Kew
Ann Seeley
Last verified 11 Oct 2026
Seat context — Kew›
Kew covers Kew, Kew East, Balwyn and Deepdene in Melbourne's inner east (about 31 km², 49,918 electors in 2022). The Liberals and their predecessors have held it since 1927 and Labor has never won it; Jess Wilson, now Opposition Leader, won in 2022 by 54.0% to 46.0% over Labor. Independent Sophie Torney polled 21.1% of first preferences and is running again. Density and the Kew Junction rezoning are local issues.
Background
Says she spent 13 years at Channel 10 News in media and political programming, per her Family First candidate profile. SSelf-stated — FF-SEELEY-2026Family First Party Australia, "Ann Seeley, Candidate for Kew"View source
Also lists work as a real estate agent, and a five-year term as live-in manager and house parent at the Kew Baptist Youth Hostel. SSelf-stated — FF-SEELEY-2026Family First Party Australia, "Ann Seeley, Candidate for Kew"View source
No current occupation is stated, and none of these roles was independently confirmed.
Says she served on the Victorian branch committee of the Leukaemia Foundation for six years. SSelf-stated — FF-SEELEY-2026Family First Party Australia, "Ann Seeley, Candidate for Kew"View source
Her Menzies profile describes her as a founding delegate of Family First. SSelf-stated — FF-SEELEY-MENZIESFamily First Party Australia, "Ann Seeley, Candidate for Menzies"View source
The Eastern Melburnian's 2026 candidate guide likewise calls her one of Family First's founding delegates. RReported — EM-VIC26The Eastern Melburnian, "Victorian Election 2026: Eastern Melbourne Candidates"View source
Cites a long-standing connection to Kew through her work at the Kew Baptist Youth Hostel, and raising three sons locally with her husband, who teaches in the area. SSelf-stated — FF-SEELEY-2026Family First Party Australia, "Ann Seeley, Candidate for Kew"View source
Says she has sponsored local cricket and soccer clubs. SSelf-stated — FF-SEELEY-2026Family First Party Australia, "Ann Seeley, Candidate for Kew"View source
Her Menzies profile says she and her husband helped build school buildings in seven developing nations. SSelf-stated — FF-SEELEY-MENZIESFamily First Party Australia, "Ann Seeley, Candidate for Menzies"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.
Her profile centres on four "pillars": Family, Fitness, Fun and Fellowship.
Her campaign donation page lists defending "the sanctity of life from conception to natural death", opposing gender ideologies and school indoctrination, and preserving religious freedom.
The Eastern Melburnian reports her advocacy as centred on Judeo-Christian family values, affordable housing and lower living costs.
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
Reported as focused on reducing living costs, with no measure attributed to her personally.
Family First's national economic policy page proposes cutting the small-business company tax rate for Australian-owned businesses; it contains no explicit household cost-of-living commitments.
Crime and community safety
Family First's national poverty and justice policy would enforce drug supply and possession laws, close drug injecting centres and weight youth justice towards compulsory rehabilitation rather than prison for first offences; nothing is attributed to Seeley personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Reported as prioritising affordable housing.
Family First's national housing policy would release more land, cut "red and green tape", support modular housing, extend the first home buyers grant to existing houses, and let pensioners downsize without penalty.
It would also ban further foreign ownership of Australian land or houses where the privilege isn't reciprocated, and significantly reduce immigration so housing supply and infrastructure can stabilise.
State government debt and fiscal management
Family First's national economic policy page commits to "a pathway towards fiscal responsibility by tackling government debt" and to reducing the size of government; a federal-and-state statement, with no Victorian debt figure.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Family First's candidate information sheet blames 'failed infrastructure blowouts' and reckless spending for Victoria's debt, but proposes no specific infrastructure projects.
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
Lists opposing gender ideologies and "school indoctrination" among her four campaign advocacy areas.
Family First's national education policy would return the curriculum to reading, writing and arithmetic, restore the primacy of Western Civilisation, add financial literacy, and encourage faith-based schools to flourish.
It would also make it an offence for teachers or social workers to hide anything from parents, including a child's wish to change gender, and remove gender-fluid ideology from curricula.
Health and healthcare access
A search summary of Family First's Victorian policies page says the party would invest in frontline medical services, increase GP availability and push the major parties to fix the ramping crisis; the page itself could not be retrieved, and nothing is attributed to Seeley personally.
Urban planning and housing density
Neither her profile nor Family First's national platform sets out a planning position beyond the housing measures above; nothing on planning is attributed to Seeley personally.
Climate and energy transition
Family First's national energy policy would end Net Zero targets, abolish renewable subsidies, withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord and keep remaining coal-fired power stations open.
It would also green-light nuclear power, reopen closed coal stations using new technology, lift restrictions on gas exploration and remove EV subsidies and incentives.
Nothing on energy is attributed to Seeley personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Family First's candidate information sheet says the party opposes the 'divisive' Victorian Treaty process and believes it should be repealed; nothing is attributed to Seeley personally.
Regional and rural Victoria
N/A — Kew is an inner-metro seat.
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.
Seeley's stated priorities (life, family, religious freedom, opposition to gender ideology in schools) match Family First's core positions, and her Menzies profile describes her as a founding delegate. SSelf-stated — FF-SEELEY-2026, FF-SEELEY-MENZIESFamily First Party Australia, "Ann Seeley, Candidate for Kew"View sourceFamily First Party Australia, "Ann Seeley, Candidate for Menzies"View source
No point of divergence from the party was found. She has made few personal statements on the eleven issues, so most positions above are national party policy, not hers.
Family First's Victorian 2026 candidates page carries no Victorian-specific policy detail; the positions above come from its national policy pages.
Track record & prior candidacies
Contested the Victorian Assembly seat of Richmond for Family First at the 25 November 2006 state election, receiving 443 first-preference votes (1.4%). VVerified — WIKI-RICHMOND-RESULTS, AWR-SEELEYWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Richmond (Victoria)"View sourceAustralian Women's Register, "Seeley, Ann Bown"View source
Contested Kew for Family First at the 2022 state election, receiving 751 first-preference votes (1.7%), so this is a repeat candidacy for the seat. VVerified — WIKI-KEW-RESULTSWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Kew"View source
Contested the federal division of Menzies for Family First at the 2025 federal election, receiving 1,759 first-preference votes (1.61%). VVerified — WIKI-MENZIESWikipedia, "Division of Menzies"View source
Her 2026 Kew profile page mentions none of these campaigns, so it understates her electoral history.
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.
All three of her previous contests finished well below 4% (1.4% in Richmond 2006, 1.7% in Kew 2022, 1.61% federally in Menzies 2025), so none produced a state public-funding entitlement.