Legislative Assembly · District of Northcote
Jim Penman
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Northcote›
Northcote is Victoria's most marginal Labor seat. Labor's Kat Theophanous won it in 2018 from the Greens, who had won a 2017 by-election after the death of Labor MP Fiona Richardson. At the 2022 election she won 40.6% of first preferences and beat the Greens' Campbell Gome 50.2% to 49.8% after preferences, a margin of 184 votes. Both are recontesting. The 2026 field is five candidates: Theophanous, Gome, the Liberals' Lynda Awad, the Victorian Socialists' Kath Larkin (also a 2022 candidate) and the Libertarian Party's Jim Penman. The Tally Room says the Greens would hope a slumping Labor vote lets them win.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Housing policy is his focus: he joined the Libertarian Party in October 2025 to pursue housing initiatives.
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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Crime and community safety
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Housing affordability and supply
Joined the Libertarian Party in October 2025 focusing on housing policy initiatives, and contests Northcote on housing affordability; a previous pass described the platform as zoning deregulation.
State government debt and fiscal management
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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
A previous pass recorded a zoning-deregulation platform; that could not be re-sourced this pass.
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.
He was endorsed by the Libertarian Party in February 2026 after joining in October 2025. RReported — WIKI-PENMANWikipedia, "Jim Penman"View source
The Libertarian Party's own platform could not be retrieved, so no comparison is possible.
Track record & prior candidacies
No earlier election candidacy was found in the sources retrieved.
He is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Northcote results. VVerified — WIKI-NC-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Northcote"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.
Penman has not previously contested a state election. A previous pass recorded that he expects to spend under $10,000 and does not expect to win; that could not be re-sourced this pass.