Legislative Assembly · District of Malvern
Amelia Hamer
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Malvern›
Malvern is a safe Liberal-held Legislative Assembly district in Melbourne's affluent inner south-east (Malvern, Malvern East, Armadale, Toorak, Kooyong, part of Glen Iris), won by Liberal MP Michael O'Brien in 2006 and held with roughly an 8% margin at the 2022 election. O'Brien announced on 9 September 2025 that he will not recontest in 2026, opening the seat for the first time in two decades. With Labor not seen as competitive, the contest of interest is whether an independent can repeat the 'teal' upset seen federally in neighbouring Kooyong. The 2026 field is the Liberals' Amelia Hamer, independent Christina Zigouras, the Greens' Georgia Katsikis, the Victorian Socialists' Gavin Leonard and One Nation's Edward Bode; no Labor candidate had been found by late September 2026. At the 2022 election O'Brien won 52.8% of first preferences and 58.4% two-party-preferred.
Background
Works as a senior equity research analyst at the wealth management firm Ord Minnett, after working across technology and finance. RReported — ABC-HAMERABC News, "Former federal Liberal candidate Amelia Hamer wins preselection for state seat of Malvern"View source
Her employer and role are from news summaries and were not checked against the firm's own site.
Grew up and went to school in Malvern and lives there now. RReported — ABC-HAMERABC News, "Former federal Liberal candidate Amelia Hamer wins preselection for state seat of Malvern"View source
Says Malvern is where she went to school and got her first job. SSelf-stated — LIBV-AMELIA-HAMERLiberal Victoria, "Amelia Hamer — Liberal candidate profile" (2 Mar 2026)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 priority is "to end Labor's era of waste and financial mismanagement, bring business back to Victoria and to restore quality of life in the Malvern community".
Says: "Locals are fed up with rising crime, rising cost of living and a government that is tired and completely out of touch."
Names a stronger, safer Malvern with less crime and better transport options as her top priority.
Says her financial-analyst experience will help end Labor's waste and deliver better value for money.
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 the rising cost of living as a top priority, promising to "ease cost of living pressures".
Crime and community safety
Names tackling rising crime as a top priority.
The Coalition's bail and sentencing policy, per the ABC, would automatically deny bail to reoffenders under a one-strike rule and treat burglary, serious assault and attempted murder as adult offences.
Housing affordability and supply
The Coalition would lift the first-home buyer threshold to remove stamp duty on homes up to $1 million, per a housing-policy comparison; nothing is attributed to Hamer personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Wants to end Labor's "era of waste and financial mismanagement".
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
Wants to "restore quality of life in the Malvern community".
Climate and energy transition
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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.
Hamer is described as part of new leader Jess Wilson's next-generation Liberal team, and her stated priorities (crime, cost of living, waste) track the Coalition's themes. RReported — ABC-HAMERABC News, "Former federal Liberal candidate Amelia Hamer wins preselection for state seat of Malvern"View source
Coalition costings on other issues could not be retrieved, so those issues are left empty.
Track record & prior candidacies
She was the Liberal candidate for Kooyong at the 2025 federal election, receiving 49,542 votes (43.13% of first preferences) and 49.33% two-candidate-preferred against Monique Ryan. VVerified — WIKI-KOOYONGWikipedia, "Electoral results for the Division of Kooyong"View source
She is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Malvern results; the Liberals' candidate at both was the retiring Michael O'Brien (51.25% in 2018, 52.8% in 2022). VVerified — WIKI-MALVERN-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Malvern"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.
Hamer has not previously contested a Victorian election; her 2025 Kooyong run was a federal contest under AEC rules. The Liberals' 2022 Malvern candidate polled 52.8% and won the seat.