Legislative Assembly · District of Kew
Samantha Lincolne
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Kew›
Kew covers Kew and Kew East (~31 km², 49,918 voters in 2022). It's historically the safest kind of Liberal territory in Victoria — Labor has never won it — though it sits inside the federal seat of Kooyong, held by independent Monique Ryan, which has raised questions about whether an independent could do the same at state level. Local friction centres on density, including the Kew Junction Activity Centre rezoning specifically.
Background
Describes herself as a member of her student union who campaigns in her workplace. SSelf-stated — VS-LINCOLNEVictorian Socialists, "Samantha Lincolne"View source
Says she has organised for free education and public housing, against racism and the far right, and against her university's ties to war and militarism. SSelf-stated — VS-LINCOLNEVictorian Socialists, "Samantha Lincolne"View source
No employer, union, university or organisation is named, and none of this was independently confirmed.
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Housing affordability and public housing provision.
Opposition to privatisation and public sector job cuts.
Worker democratic control over society, and challenging a system that puts profit ahead of human need.
"Real change has always come from ordinary people organising collectively to fight for their own future."
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
Says many people in the community are struggling with rising costs and declining housing affordability while the major parties serve their rich corporate backers; no specific relief measure is attributed to her.
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
Lincolne has made no personal statement on crime or policing.
The party's policy would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16, presume bail for all offences, disarm police on patrol and hold a Royal Commission into policing and corruption.
It would also ban new prisons, reallocating the expansion budget to public housing, and end solitary confinement.
Housing affordability and supply
Names housing affordability and public housing as a priority and criticises declining affordability, without stating her own measures.
The party's 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.
It would also tax vacant residential land at 30% of value, ban owning more than five properties, and require at least 30% public housing in developments.
State government debt and fiscal management
The party's fiscal policy focuses on raising revenue: a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires, a 5% luxury property tax, doubled payroll tax on firms with wages over $5 million and a 35% flat royalty on coal, gas, oil and minerals.
No position on state debt levels was found, and nothing on it is attributed to Lincolne.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Opposes privatisation as a stated priority, without naming a project.
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would reverse privatisation, make public transport free and upgrade regional rail.
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
Says she has organised for free education, and for opposition to her university's ties to war and militarism.
A summary of the party's education policy says it would provide universal preschool and childcare, improve student-teacher ratios and end NAPLAN testing.
Health and healthcare access
A summary of the party's health policy says it would fully fund public healthcare and expand free community clinics; nothing is attributed to Lincolne personally.
Urban planning and housing density
A summary of the party's planning policy says it would end public land sales and require developers to fund community amenities; the housing policy adds a non-negotiable 30% public housing inclusionary zoning requirement.
Climate and energy transition
A summary of the party's energy and climate policies says it would take power into public ownership to cap electricity and gas bills, move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy and end old-growth logging; nothing is attributed to Lincolne 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 Lincolne personally.
Regional and rural Victoria
A summary of the party's rural policy says it would rebuild regional transport, secure jobs and end rural worker exploitation; nothing is attributed to Lincolne personally.
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.
Lincolne's stated priorities (public housing, opposition to privatisation and job cuts, worker control) restate the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform. SSelf-stated — VS-LINCOLNE, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Samantha Lincolne"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
No point of divergence was found. She has made few individual policy statements, so nearly all positions above are the party's, not hers.
Track record & prior candidacies
Her candidate profile mentions no prior campaign. SSelf-stated — VS-LINCOLNEVictorian Socialists, "Samantha Lincolne"View source
No candidate named Lincolne appears in any Kew result on record, and no Victorian Socialists candidate appears in the 2018 or 2022 Kew results. VVerified — WIKI-KEW-RESULTSWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Kew"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.
Lincolne has not previously contested an election, so she has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest.