Legislative Assembly · District of Laverton
Sarah Connolly
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Laverton›
Laverton is a safe Labor seat in Melbourne's western suburbs, created in the 2021 redistribution from parts of Footscray, Tarneit, Altona, Kororoit and St Albans, and first contested in 2022. Sarah Connolly, who held the predecessor seat of Tarneit from 2018, won it in 2022 with 45.9% of first preferences and 68.4% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Raja Reddy, and is recontesting. The 2026 field is six candidates: Connolly, the Liberals' Ghada Noune, the Greens' Lucy Nguyen, the Victorian Socialists' Van Thanh Rudd (who contested neighbouring St Albans in 2022), the Animal Justice Party's Shohre Mansouri and the New Democrats' Gurneet Soni. The Tally Room says Labor should hold safely, though community discussion points to strong Greens organising and concern about proposed AI data centres.
Background
Worked across the energy sector for over a decade in policy, regulation, risk and compliance and customer engagement, and earlier as a judge's associate, legal clerk and at the Department of Justice on legislative reform. VVerified — CONNOLLY-PARLVICParliament of Victoria, "Sarah Connolly — Member page"View source
Wikipedia adds work in private legal practice and at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Australian Energy Regulator. RReported — WIKI-CONNOLLYWikipedia, "Sarah Connolly (politician)"View source
Her electorate office is at Williams Landing, and she describes the electorate as a growing community. VVerified — CONNOLLY-PARLVICParliament of Victoria, "Sarah Connolly — Member page"View source
Grew up in Kingscliff, New South Wales; is married to a senior ACTU official and has three children. RReported — WIKI-CONNOLLYWikipedia, "Sarah Connolly (politician)"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.
"Working to bring more jobs, better education and world-class health care to the western suburbs."
"My door is always open - please get in touch!"
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
Her site lists cost-of-living support measures.
Labor's 2026 platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes a vehicle registration rebate of up to $186, half-price public transport fares from June to December 2026 and free midday electricity from October 2026; nothing is attributed to Connolly personally.
Crime and community safety
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes the 2025 bail law changes; nothing is attributed to Connolly personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, is built around the Big Housing Build; nothing is attributed to Connolly personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, projects operating surpluses of $700 million in 2025-26 and $1 billion in 2026-27; nothing is attributed to Connolly personally.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Names transportation infrastructure, roads and rail, as a focus.
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $1.04 billion for roads.
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
Names school upgrades and better education as priorities, and has engaged the community on P-9 school futures in Wyndham.
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $5.5 billion of new education investment in 2026-27 and the Free TAFE guarantee.
Health and healthcare access
Names public hospital funding and world-class healthcare for the western suburbs as priorities.
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $3.9 billion of new health investment in 2026-27.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Worked in energy policy, regulation and customer engagement for over a decade.
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, targets 65% renewables by 2030 and 95% by 2035.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, cites implementation of the Statewide Treaty Act 2025; nothing is attributed to Connolly 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.
Track record & prior candidacies
Chair of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee since February 2023; she previously chaired the Environment and Planning Committee. RReported — WIKI-CONNOLLYWikipedia, "Sarah Connolly (politician)"View source
Her parliamentary profile lists no ministerial portfolio or parliamentary secretary role. VVerified — CONNOLLY-PARLVICParliament of Victoria, "Sarah Connolly — Member page"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.
As the sitting member, Connolly met the "elected" limb of the test at the 2022 election, so her Laverton campaign qualified for public funding.