Legislative Assembly · District of Kew
Sophie Torney
Last verified 21 Aug 2026
Seat context — Kew›
Kew covers Kew and Kew East (~31 km², 49,918 voters in 2022). Incumbent Jess Wilson (Liberal, now Opposition Leader) holds the seat on a 3.98% margin. Kew sits inside the federal seat of Kooyong, held by independent Monique Ryan since 2022. Torney's 2022 run was Climate 200-backed, confirming the "teal independent" framing for this seat. Local friction centres on density, including the Kew Junction Activity Centre rezoning specifically.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
A "fresh start with integrity," a stronger economy, and real progress on climate action — practical solutions and transparent leadership are recurring themes across her campaign material.
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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Crime and community safety
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Housing affordability and supply
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
State government debt and fiscal management
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Health and healthcare access
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Urban planning and housing density
Engaged directly with the local density debate as a councillor — specifically cites helping save Kew Library from demolition and saving ratepayers $15 million.
Climate and energy transition
On council, delivered "major climate action investment," expanded EV charging infrastructure, and convened the Electrify Boroondara Expo.
Her 2022 campaign material set specific targets: 100% renewable electricity by 2030, a 75% emissions-reduction target by 2030, and net zero by 2035 — not confirmed as still her current 2026 position.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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.
N/A — independent.
Her 2022 campaign was backed by Climate 200. RReported — CRIKEYCrikey, "An interview with teal independent for Kew Sophie Torney" (24 Nov 2022)
Track record & prior candidacies
Contested Kew as an independent in 2022 with Climate 200 backing. RReported — CRIKEYCrikey, "An interview with teal independent for Kew Sophie Torney" (24 Nov 2022)
Placed second with 21.1% of the primary vote. VVerified — WP-KEW-RESULTSWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Kew"
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Climate 200 backed Torney's 2022 Kew campaign, and that backing continued into 2026. RReported — CRIKEY, ABC-DONATIONSCrikey, "An interview with teal independent for Kew Sophie Torney" (24 Nov 2022)ABC News, "Victoria's political donation system remains a free-for-all ahead of election" (17 May 2026)View source
Simon Holmes à Court publicly confirmed to The Age (as reported by ABC News, 17 May 2026) that Climate 200 had made a donation reported at $40,000 to Torney's 2026 campaign, after Victoria's donation cap was struck down by the High Court in April 2026. RReported — CRIKEY, ABC-DONATIONSCrikey, "An interview with teal independent for Kew Sophie Torney" (24 Nov 2022)ABC News, "Victoria's political donation system remains a free-for-all ahead of election" (17 May 2026)View source
A later AAP wire report (8 July 2026) gave a different figure, stating Torney and fellow teal-aligned candidate Shima Ibuki (Hawthorn) had each received $140,000 from Climate 200 in May 2026. RReported — ABC-DONATIONS, AAP-TEALREPAYABC News, "Victoria's political donation system remains a free-for-all ahead of election" (17 May 2026)View sourceAustralian Associated Press (AAP, via South Coast Register), "Record donations repaid as teals rail against system" (8 July 2026)View source
Torney's campaign confirmed to AAP it had repaid the donation in full ahead of the VEC's 9 July 2026 deadline, after Victoria's Parliament retroactively reinstated donation caps (capping individual donations at $5,030 for the 15 April – 9 June 2026 gap period). RReported — ABC-DONATIONS, AAP-TEALREPAYABC News, "Victoria's political donation system remains a free-for-all ahead of election" (17 May 2026)View sourceAustralian Associated Press (AAP, via South Coast Register), "Record donations repaid as teals rail against system" (8 July 2026)View source
The $40,000-vs-$140,000 discrepancy between the two reports is unresolved as of this research; both agree Climate 200 made a substantial donation to her 2026 campaign, which was then returned under the reinstated cap rather than retained. RReported — ABC-DONATIONS, AAP-TEALREPAYABC News, "Victoria's political donation system remains a free-for-all ahead of election" (17 May 2026)View sourceAustralian Associated Press (AAP, via South Coast Register), "Record donations repaid as teals rail against system" (8 July 2026)View source
Independent candidates qualify for VEC election funding if they receive at least 4% of first-preference votes, or are elected (Electoral Act 2002, per the VEC's 'Funding for independent candidates' guidance).
Funding is calculated against the candidate's audited campaign expenditure statement and first-preference vote count, up to legislated maximums, indexed annually by CPI each 1 July; for the 2026-27 financial year (covering the 28 November 2026 election) the VEC's published indexed rate is $7.70 per first-preference vote for Legislative Assembly candidates.
Torney's 2022 result (21.1% first-preference) clears the 4% threshold comfortably; a March 2026 uComms poll commissioned by her own campaign put her primary vote lower, at 17%, but this is still well clear of the eligibility threshold, so funding eligibility would not be in doubt if that share holds.
Dataset housekeeping
Source register
2 of 6 source register entries are missing a confirmed URL — flagged rather than hidden, per the same standard this page holds candidates to.