Legislative Assembly · District of Mill Park
Jesse Lambourn
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Mill Park›
Mill Park is a very safe Labor seat in Melbourne's north, held by Labor since its 2002 creation, that is an open contest in 2026. Sitting MP Lily D'Ambrosio, Australia's longest-serving energy minister and MP for the seat since 2002, announced on 30 July 2026 that she will not recontest and is stepping down from Cabinet, following a Labor leadership change. The 2026 field is Labor's Elizabeth Nealy, the Liberals' Joel Drysdale, the Greens' Binoy Zacharias and the Victorian Socialists' Jesse Lambourn. At the 2022 election D'Ambrosio won 49.9% of first preferences and 61.6% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Paige Yap.
Background
Works in Victorian public schools and is described as a community advocate for the northern suburbs. SSelf-stated — VS-LAMBOURNVictorian Socialists, "Jesse Lambourn"View source
His place of residence is not stated in the profile.
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Fully funded public education, addressing underfunding in Victorian schools.
Affordable housing and green spaces in local communities, and opposition to the proposed AI data centre in South Morang.
"Working-class people generate all the wealth in society, and we shouldn't have to settle for crumbs while the rich get richer."
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 working-class economic security and the cost of living as priorities.
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
A summary of the party's policing policy says it would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16; nothing is attributed to Lambourn personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Names affordable housing as a priority.
The party's housing 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.
State government debt and fiscal management
The party's fiscal policy centres on new revenue including a 10% annual billionaire wealth tax; nothing on debt levels is attributed to Lambourn.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would make public transport free; nothing is attributed to Lambourn personally.
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
A public school teacher and striking Australian Education Union member, he calls for fully funded public education.
A summary of the party's education policy says it would provide universal preschool and childcare 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 Lambourn personally.
Urban planning and housing density
Opposes what his profile calls corporate land extraction, specifically the proposed AI data centre in South Morang, and wants green spaces protected.
Climate and energy transition
A summary of the party's energy policies says it would move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy; nothing is attributed to Lambourn 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 Lambourn 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.
Lambourn runs on the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform, and his priorities match it. SSelf-stated — VS-LAMBOURN, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Jesse Lambourn"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
His profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — VS-LAMBOURNVictorian Socialists, "Jesse Lambourn"View source
He is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Mill Park results; the Victorian Socialists' 2018 candidate was Nicholas Reich (3.91%). VVerified — WIKI-MP-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Mill Park"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.
Lambourn has not previously contested an election, so he has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest. The Victorian Socialists' 2018 Mill Park candidate polled 3.91%, just under the 4% mark.