Legislative Assembly · District of Narre Warren South
Bailey McCracken
Last verified 24 Sept 2026
Seat context — Narre Warren South›
Narre Warren South becomes an open Labor-held contest in 2026: sitting MP Gary Maas, who has held the seat since 2018, announced in June 2026 that he will not seek re-election. Labor has preselected outgoing Casey City Council Mayor Stefan Koomen as his replacement. The Liberal candidate, Norliah Syer-Peterson, became a prominent vaccine-access advocate after her teenage son's death from meningococcal B in 2025. The Greens' Jill Nambu, One Nation's Trevor Hammond, and Victorian Socialists' Bailey McCracken round out the confirmed field, and independent Scott Watson announced a candidacy on 29 June 2026.
Background
Describes himself as "a boilermaker, a unionist, and a proud socialist." SSelf-stated — VS-BM-BIOVictorian Socialists, "Bailey McCracken — Candidate for Narre Warren South (bio)"View source
The Australian Election Tracker labels him a "unionist" and volunteer, drawing on the same party profile. RReported — ET-NWS26Australian Election Tracker, "Narre Warren South — candidates"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 he is running "to fight for the interests of the working class."
Says "there are solutions to our problems, but they require a break from Labor, the Greens, and every other defender of the decaying liberal order."
Says "as an anti-imperialist, I stand for smashing the US–Australia alliance. AUKUS must be ripped up."
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
Says "our living conditions are in perpetual decline as wages stagnate and prices skyrocket," while "job insecurity and casualisation rise."
Party platform (not candidate-specific): a "$100 trolley" scheme for a week's groceries funded from supermarket profits, community-run food hubs, and an immediate cap on household electricity and gas prices.
Crime and community safety
No personal statement on crime or policing in his profile.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): raising the age of criminal responsibility to 16, ending mandatory sentencing, and a legal presumption in favour of bail for all offences.
Housing affordability and supply
Says "the housing crisis must end," and proposes to "expropriate unused housing and land left empty for no reason for use or development into public housing."
Proposes to "introduce a state building authority under workers' control to build it," funded by "increasing taxes on billionaires, big banks, and corporations."
Party platform (not candidate-specific): a Victorian Public Housing Authority with a publicly owned construction company (20,000 jobs), at least 15,000 new public housing units a year for 10+ years, and, without compensation, taking homes vacant for over two years into public ownership or redistributing them.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): a 25% cut to residential rents followed by a five-year freeze, and a 30% tax on vacant residential land.
State government debt and fiscal management
Says taxes should rise on "billionaires, big banks, and corporations" to pay for public housing and to "rebuild our industrial capacity to serve working-class interests."
Party platform (not candidate-specific): a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires, a 20% tax on the five largest banks' profits, doubled payroll tax for large companies, and a flat 35% mining royalty; the page does not address state debt.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Says Australia must "rebuild our industrial capacity," and supports unionists "opposing the construction of new AUKUS bases"; no road, rail or local project is named.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): permanently free public transport, reversal of transport privatisation, and turn-up-and-go frequency on high-frequency routes.
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 personal statement on education in his profile.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): class sizes capped at 15, 12,000 more teachers and support staff, and 3,200 more state-run early learning and childcare centres.
Health and healthcare access
No personal statement on health in his profile.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): at least 3 public hospital beds per 1,000 Victorians, free ambulance services, and free public community health centres including dental care.
Urban planning and housing density
No personal statement on planning in his profile beyond bringing empty land into public housing use.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): at least 30% low-cost and public housing in all new developments, a developer-funded social infrastructure levy, and an end to the sale of public land.
Climate and energy transition
No personal statement on energy or climate in his profile.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): a publicly owned, not-for-profit energy operator, a 100% renewable grid, and no nuclear power industry.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
No personal statement on Treaty in his profile.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): extend the powers of statewide and local Treaties, and implement the Yoorrook and Bringing Them Home recommendations.
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 profile names no Narre Warren South or Casey issue; it addresses national and state politics and the housing crisis in general terms. SSelf-stated — VS-BM-BIOVictorian Socialists, "Bailey McCracken — Candidate for Narre Warren South (bio)"View source
Narre Warren South is an open seat in 2026: sitting Labor MP Gary Maas is not running, and Labor won it in 2022 with 48.0% of first preferences and 58.3% of the two-party-preferred vote. VVerified — TR-NWS26The Tally Room, "Narre Warren South – Victoria 2026"View source
His anti-AUKUS stance matches the party's policy to withdraw from AUKUS and pursue non-alignment, and his call to take empty housing into public ownership matches its policy on homes vacant for more than two years. SSelf-stated — VS-BM-BIO, VS-WAR, VS-HOUSINGVictorian Socialists, "Bailey McCracken — Candidate for Narre Warren South (bio)"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Oppose militarism and war"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Housing for all"View source
His proposal for a state building authority "under workers' control" goes further than the party's published public construction company, whose board is one-third workers' representatives. SSelf-stated — VS-BM-BIO, VS-HOUSINGVictorian Socialists, "Bailey McCracken — Candidate for Narre Warren South (bio)"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Housing for all"View source
He also frames the Greens as defenders of "the decaying liberal order," a sharper line than the party's policy pages take. SSelf-stated — VS-BM-BIOVictorian Socialists, "Bailey McCracken — Candidate for Narre Warren South (bio)"View source
Track record & prior candidacies
Says the CFMEU's organised rank-and-file "has now been largely broken through the dictatorial system of administration." SSelf-stated — VS-BM-BIOVictorian Socialists, "Bailey McCracken — Candidate for Narre Warren South (bio)"View source
The ABC reported the CFMEU's construction division has been under an administrator since August 2024, with administrator Mark Irving KC announcing his resignation in April 2026 and Michael Crosby named to replace him. RReported — ABC-CFMEU26ABC News, "CFMEU administrator Mark Irving KC resigns" (27 Apr 2026)View source
First run for office found: the 2022 Narre Warren South ballot had eight candidates and Victorian Socialists were not among them. VVerified — TR-NWS26The Tally Room, "Narre Warren South – Victoria 2026"View source
No other prior state, federal or council candidacy under his name was found; searches were not exhaustive. VVerified — WP-CANDS-2022VIC, WP-CANDS-2025FED, WP-LGE24-SEMWikipedia, "Candidates of the 2022 Victorian state election"View sourceWikipedia, "Candidates of the 2025 Australian federal election"View sourceWikipedia, "Results of the 2024 Victorian local elections in South-Eastern Melbourne"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. Victorian Socialists appears on the VEC's list of currently registered parties (first registered 6 June 2018, re-registered 7 November 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.