Legislative Assembly · District of Narracan
Jannette Langley
Last verified 24 Sept 2026
Seat context — Narracan›
Narracan is a Liberal-held Gippsland seat around Warragul and Drouin, represented by Wayne Farnham since a January 2023 supplementary election — the original 2022 contest was declared failed after Nationals candidate Shaun Gilchrist died shortly before polling day. Farnham, a local builder, is recontesting. The field also includes Labor's Jannette Langley, a longtime party member and repeat candidate; the Greens' Alyssa Weaver; Victorian Socialists' Moss Page; Family First's Geoff Dethlefs; and One Nation's Ben Lucas, a Baw Baw Shire councillor on leave from council since 16 September 2026 who defected from the Liberal Party in late 2025.
Background
The Latrobe Valley Express described her in December 2021 as a former Centrelink employee and supermarket manager. RReported — LVE-LANGLEY21Latrobe Valley Express, "Labor preselects Langley to run for the seat of Gippsland" (8 Dec 2021)View source
The Gazette reports she joined Labor about 12 years ago after leaving her job as a public servant; her current occupation is not stated. RReported — GAZETTE-LANGLEYThe Warragul and Drouin Gazette, "Langley commits to local campaign" (9 Aug 2026)View source
Gippsland Monitor says she has spent most of her career in the public sector and has worked as a local football coach and a Community and Public Sector Union senior delegate. RReported — GIPPSMON26Gippsland Monitor, "Victorian Election 2026: Gippsland Candidates" (30 July 2026)View source
As of 2021 she was Traralgon Football Netball Club secretary and manager, a former Traralgon Heights scout leader, Loy Yang tennis club junior committee president, and a Traralgon Recreation Reserve committee member. RReported — LVE-LANGLEY21Latrobe Valley Express, "Labor preselects Langley to run for the seat of Gippsland" (8 Dec 2021)View source
She told the Latrobe Valley Express she was the first female Cumberland Park junior footy coach. RReported — LVE-LANGLEY21Latrobe Valley Express, "Labor preselects Langley to run for the seat of Gippsland" (8 Dec 2021)View source
Told the Gazette in 2026: "I was always a unionist. I've always been a unionist. That's why it's Labor." RReported — GAZETTE-LANGLEYThe Warragul and Drouin Gazette, "Langley commits to local campaign" (9 Aug 2026)View source
Born in Cohuna and raised in the Latrobe Valley, where she said in 2021 she had lived her whole life, then a Traralgon resident. RReported — LVE-LANGLEY21, BAIRNSDALE-LANGLEY22Latrobe Valley Express, "Labor preselects Langley to run for the seat of Gippsland" (8 Dec 2021)View sourceBairnsdale Advertiser, "Labor's bid for Gippsland" (4 Jan 2022)View source
The Gazette describes her in 2026 as a Drouin resident. RReported — GAZETTE-LANGLEYThe Warragul and Drouin Gazette, "Langley commits to local campaign" (9 Aug 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.
Says her priorities are "fighting for the growing Narracan community and advocating for more funding for infrastructure."
Says "I need to be the voice in there that fights for those things that we need in our area," advocating "within the State Government."
Says she can lift trust in Labor by demonstrating what it has done, "what they've got in the budget to do and getting what's in the budget done."
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
No 2026 statement of her own on cost of living found in the coverage reviewed.
Party/government position (not candidate-specific): half-price trains, trams and buses (metro and V/Line) every day for the rest of 2026, funded in the 2026-27 budget.
The ABC reported the budget spent more than $1 billion on free public transport and car-registration rebates as cost-of-living relief.
Crime and community safety
No statement of her own on crime found in the coverage reviewed.
Party/government position (not candidate-specific): more than $1 billion for police, justice and emergency services, a Violence Reduction Unit, and what it calls the nation's toughest bail laws.
Housing affordability and supply
In 2021, as Labor's federal candidate, she listed social and public housing and "sustainable housing" among her issues, saying some homeless people in Gippsland were living in their cars; no 2026 housing statement was found.
Party/government position (not candidate-specific): an $860 million Social Housing Growth Fund to deliver more than 7,000 social homes, and extending off-the-plan stamp duty concessions to 21 April 2027.
State government debt and fiscal management
No statement of her own on debt found.
Party/government position (not candidate-specific): an operating surplus of $700 million in 2025-26 and $1 billion in 2026-27, with net debt as a share of the economy lower in four years.
The ABC reported state debt projected to reach $199.3 billion in 2029-30, with interest costs above $11 billion that year.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Her stated priority is "advocating for more funding for infrastructure, alongside the Baw Baw and Cardinia councils," because "we are a very fast-growing area."
Says "I think Gippsland as a whole isn't on the map," naming Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong and Shepparton as places that get mentioned.
Party/government position (not candidate-specific): more than $1 billion for road repairs statewide plus $102.6 million for new and upgraded roads in the 2026-27 budget.
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
No statement of her own on education found in the coverage reviewed.
Party/government position (not candidate-specific): $5.5 billion more for education, 121 new schools since 2017, more than $295 million to upgrade 31 government schools, and Free Kinder.
Health and healthcare access
No statement of her own on health or the West Gippsland Hospital found in the coverage reviewed.
Party/government position (not candidate-specific): a $1.6 billion injection for public hospital funding certainty, Urgent Care Clinics and a Virtual ED, and $109 million for children's specialist appointments and surgery.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
No statement of her own on energy found in the coverage reviewed.
Party/government position (not candidate-specific): the state-owned SEC investing up to $43 million in the Baranduda big battery, part of a program to build 4.5 gigawatts of renewables and storage.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
No statement of her own on Treaty found in the coverage reviewed.
The Labor government's Statewide Treaty Bill 2025 passed the Assembly 54 to 27 on 16 October 2025 and the Council 21 to 16 on 30 October.
Regional and rural Victoria
Says she likes to visit smaller towns "in the pub or coffee shop," naming Yarragon, Trafalgar, Neerim and Walhalla, and to hear from people who have "lived here all their life."
Party/government position (not candidate-specific): half-price V/Line as well as metro fares for the rest of 2026.
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.
Describes herself as "a squeaky wheel" and a listener who prefers to campaign in smaller towns; she is a Drouin resident. RReported — GAZETTE-LANGLEYThe Warragul and Drouin Gazette, "Langley commits to local campaign" (9 Aug 2026)View source
New hospital: Labor promised $610 to $675 million in October 2022 for a West Gippsland hospital at Drouin East, with patients moving in during 2029, and the Gazette reported in May 2026 that the 2026-27 budget allocated no construction funding. VVerified — ABC-WGH-JUL26, GAZETTE-FAILED26ABC News, "Victorian opposition promises $850 million to build new West Gippsland hospital if elected" (23 July 2026)View sourceThe Warragul and Drouin Gazette, "Failed promise?" (11 May 2026)View source
The Gazette reported the budget lists $65 million for works shared between West Gippsland and Wonthaggi hospitals, with only $3.7 million in 2026-27 and the bulk in 2028-29 and 2029-30; the Health Minister said major hospital investments were being staged. RReported — GAZETTE-FAILED26The Warragul and Drouin Gazette, "Failed promise?" (11 May 2026)View source
On 23 July 2026 the Coalition promised $850 million for the hospital; she has not been quoted on it in the coverage reviewed, although it is the seat's largest local issue. RReported — GAZETTE-WGH-JUL26The Warragul and Drouin Gazette, "$850 million promised for new hospital" (29 July 2026)View source
Runs as the Labor government's candidate and says she would advocate for Narracan "within the State Government," with no point of divergence from the party reported. RReported — GAZETTE-LANGLEYThe Warragul and Drouin Gazette, "Langley commits to local campaign" (9 Aug 2026)View source
Her federal campaign in 2021 stressed the environment, sustainable jobs, social and public housing, and access to the NDIS, which she said had few services in Gippsland. RReported — LVE-LANGLEY21Latrobe Valley Express, "Labor preselects Langley to run for the seat of Gippsland" (8 Dec 2021)View source
The Gazette noted in July 2026 that her Labor candidate profile was live but incomplete, so her stated positions rest on interviews rather than party material. RReported — GAZETTE-LANGLEY-RUN26The Warragul and Drouin Gazette, "Jannette Langley running for Narracan" (19 July 2026)View source
Track record & prior candidacies
2020 Latrobe City Council, East Ward: 527 first-preference votes (2.60%), last of nine candidates for four seats. VVerified — VEC-LATROBE20Victorian Electoral Commission, "Latrobe City Council election results 2020 (East Ward)"View source
2022 federal election, Division of Gippsland, as the Labor candidate: 19,404 first-preference votes (19.23%, down 3.97 points), second behind the Nationals' Darren Chester (54.14%). VVerified — WP-FED22, LVE-LANGLEY21Wikipedia, "Results of the 2022 Australian federal election in Victoria (Gippsland)"View sourceLatrobe Valley Express, "Labor preselects Langley to run for the seat of Gippsland" (8 Dec 2021)View source
2022 Victorian election, Legislative Council for Eastern Victoria Region: fourth on Labor's five-candidate ticket, which won two of five seats; she was not elected. VVerified — WP-LC22Wikipedia, "Results of the 2022 Victorian state election (Legislative Council)"View source
2024 Baw Baw Shire Council, East Ward: 243 first-preference votes (1.96%), last of eight candidates, listed as an independent. VVerified — VEC-BAWBAW24Victorian Electoral Commission, "2024 Baw Baw Shire Council election results (East Ward)" (26 Oct 2024)View source
She told the Gazette in 2024 that she was an ALP member and a "political junkie." RReported — GAZETTE-LANGLEY-RUN26The Warragul and Drouin Gazette, "Jannette Langley running for Narracan" (19 July 2026)View source
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Per the VEC's own funding guidance for registered political parties (accessed 2026-09-24), public funding is paid to the registered party, not to individual candidates. The Australian Labor Party - Victorian Branch appears on the VEC's list of currently registered parties (first registered 26 March 1985, re-registered 3 October 2024), and is eligible if at least one endorsed candidate receives at least 4% of first-preference votes or is elected.
The amount is based on the party's audited statement of expenditure, the votes its candidates receive and legislated maximums, at an indexed per-vote rate that the VEC's indexation page (accessed 2026-09-24) lists as $7.70 for lower-house candidates in 2026-27, up from $7.46 the year before. The VEC's funding page notes it is under review following the Electoral Further Amendment Act 2026, so these rules may change before the election.