Legislative Assembly · District of Lara
Stephen Spyros
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Lara›
Lara is a safe Labor seat covering northern Geelong and rural areas to the west, including Lara, Corio, Bell Post Hill, Anakie and Balliang, and held by Labor since it was created in 2002. Ella George won it in 2022, succeeding retiring MP John Eren, with 49.7% of first preferences and 65.9% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Ralph Krein, and is recontesting. Local issues include a proposed gas terminal at Corio Bay and the Corio refinery. The 2026 field found is five candidates: George, the Greens' Theresa Slater, One Nation's Stephen Spyros, the Victorian Socialists' Oliver Randall and Socialist Alliance's Sarah Hathway. No Liberal candidate has been found, and Wikipedia's 2026 table lists Slater as Liberal and Randall as Greens, which the parties' own pages contradict.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Public safety and crime reduction, cost-of-living relief and tax concerns, common-sense governance and restoring community trust in government.
"Crime is rising, everything is more expensive, people don't feel safe anymore."
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 cost-of-living relief and tax concerns as priorities, saying everything is more expensive.
The One Nation Victoria platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would remove insurance duty on premiums and end renewable subsidies.
Crime and community safety
Names public safety and crime reduction as his first priority, saying "crime is rising" and people don't feel safe, drawing on his police service.
Housing affordability and supply
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would ban foreign ownership of residential property; nothing is attributed to Spyros personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Wants common-sense governance over ideology and restored trust in government.
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
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would establish elected school boards with a parent majority; nothing is attributed to Spyros personally.
Health and healthcare access
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, opposes Net Zero by 2050; nothing is attributed to Spyros personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would oppose and repeal Victoria's Statewide Treaty framework; nothing is attributed to Spyros 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.
His themes sit within One Nation's statewide platform. SSelf-stated — ON-SS, ET-ON-POLICYOne Nation Victoria, "Stephen Spyros for Lara"View sourceAustralian Election Tracker, "One Nation policy profile — 2026 Victorian election"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
His profile mentions no prior campaign. SSelf-stated — ON-SSOne Nation Victoria, "Stephen Spyros for Lara"View source
He is not among the candidates in the 2022 Lara results. VVerified — WIKI-LARA-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Lara"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.
Spyros has not previously contested an election, and One Nation did not field a Lara candidate in 2022.