Legislative Council · Northern Victoria Region
Wayne Taylor
Last verified 11 Oct 2026
Seat context — Northern Victoria Region›
Northern Victoria elects 5 MLCs and comprises 11 Legislative Assembly districts across north-central Victoria — Benambra, Bendigo East, Bendigo West, Eildon, Euroa, Macedon, Mildura, Murray Plains, Ovens Valley, Shepparton and Yan Yean. A bill abolishing group voting tickets for the Council has passed the Assembly and is before the Legislative Council's 11–13 August sitting.
Background
Occupation not stated on the party's candidate profile. SSelf-stated — LC-TAYLORLegalise Cannabis Victoria, "Wayne Taylor - Candidate for Northern Victoria"View source
In a November 2022 profile, described himself as currently unemployed and struggling (dated; current occupation not found). RReported — BA-2022Bendigo Advertiser, "Cannabis candidates hope for show of numbers" (17 Nov 2022)View source
Described as a long-time cannabis law reform activist and a founding member of the Legalise Cannabis Party in Victoria. SSelf-stated — LC-TAYLORLegalise Cannabis Victoria, "Wayne Taylor - Candidate for Northern Victoria"View source
Worked on the steering committee that registered the Legalise Cannabis Party, building support, membership and awareness; the Bendigo Advertiser reported he was one of four people who started the party in Victoria. RReported — SN-2025, BA-2022Shepparton News, "Wayne Taylor candidate profile (federal division of Bendigo)" (28 Apr 2025)View sourceBendigo Advertiser, "Cannabis candidates hope for show of numbers" (17 Nov 2022)View source
No elected office or council term found. SSelf-stated — LC-TAYLORLegalise Cannabis Victoria, "Wayne Taylor - Candidate for Northern Victoria"View source
Says he has spent over a decade raising awareness and building connections in regional communities. SSelf-stated — LC-TAYLORLegalise Cannabis Victoria, "Wayne Taylor - Candidate for Northern Victoria"View source
Reported in November 2022 as a Chewton resident, in central Victoria near Bendigo; current residence not stated. RReported — BA-2022Bendigo Advertiser, "Cannabis candidates hope for show of numbers" (17 Nov 2022)View source
Describes himself as an environmentalist who cares about native bushland. RReported — BA-2022Bendigo Advertiser, "Cannabis candidates hope for show of numbers" (17 Nov 2022)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.
Adult-use cannabis legalisation.
Fairer drug-driving laws for medicinal cannabis patients.
Removal of past non-violent cannabis convictions.
Growing Victoria's industrial hemp industry to create regional jobs and support sustainable farming and construction.
Says his reform work is deeply personal, citing his own mental health challenges and alcohol dependence, and backs compassionate, evidence-based drug policy.
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
Wants past non-violent cannabis convictions removed.
In 2022 backed expunging convictions for personal-use cannabis.
Party context, not a statement by this candidate: on 19 November 2025 Legalise Cannabis MLC David Ettershank moved a Legislative Council motion calling on the government to decriminalise personal use and possession of cannabis, beginning with an end to arrests; government and Liberal members spoke against it.
Housing affordability and supply
In 2022 said he cares about housing affordability and that he was in a rental crisis himself; no detailed housing policy found.
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
Wants fairer drug-driving laws for medicinal cannabis patients, and in 2022 backed making medicinal cannabis cheaper.
In 2022 said he wanted cannabis tax revenue directed to homeless services and Medicare, including adding dental care to Medicare, and a drug-driving test based on THC potency rather than presence.
Says his own mental health challenges and alcohol dependence shape his support for compassionate, evidence-based drug policy.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
In 2022 described himself as an environmentalist who cares about native bushland; no climate or energy policy found.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Regional and rural Victoria
Wants to grow Victoria's industrial hemp industry to create regional jobs and support sustainable farming and construction.
In 2025 said prohibition restricts hemp farming and holds back regional Victoria, and that he would lobby the federal government on hemp if elected.
Cited a Legalise Cannabis Victoria Industrial Hemp Bill introduced in 2024 and Victorian Farmers Federation support for a 2024 private member's bill on hemp, as reported in the 2025 profile.
Cited ACIC wastewater monitoring (December 2023) as showing regional Victorians consume about twice as much cannabis as Melbourne residents.
Also wants to raise the 3% THC limit for hemp plants (2022).
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.
Priorities as published by the party on his candidate profile match the party's core single-issue platform of cannabis law reform; no divergence from the party line found. He ran at 2022 and 2025 elections as a Legalise Cannabis candidate and is a founding member. SSelf-stated — LC-TAYLORLegalise Cannabis Victoria, "Wayne Taylor - Candidate for Northern Victoria"View source
Reported as saying the party approaches issues with evidence, common sense and values including social justice, equality, civil liberties and human rights. Positions on issues beyond cannabis and hemp (cost of living, debt, infrastructure, education, planning, Treaty) were not found for either the candidate or, on sources reviewed, the party. RReported — SN-2025Shepparton News, "Wayne Taylor candidate profile (federal division of Bendigo)" (28 Apr 2025)View source
Track record & prior candidacies
2022 federal election: second Victorian Senate candidate for Legalise Cannabis (reported by two outlets; result not retrieved). RReported — SN-2025, KFP-2025Shepparton News, "Wayne Taylor candidate profile (federal division of Bendigo)" (28 Apr 2025)View sourceKyabram Free Press, "Election profiles: Wayne Taylor" (28 Apr 2025)View source
2022 Victorian state election, Bendigo West (Legislative Assembly): Legalise Cannabis, 2,175 first-preference votes, 5.40%, not elected. VVerified — WIKI-BWESTWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Bendigo West"View source
2025 federal election, Division of Bendigo: Legalise Cannabis, 3,666 first-preference votes, 3.44%, not elected. VVerified — WIKI-BENDIGOWikipedia, "Division of Bendigo"View source
His candidate profile states he has stood for the party at both state and federal elections. SSelf-stated — LC-TAYLORLegalise Cannabis Victoria, "Wayne Taylor - Candidate for Northern Victoria"View source
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Per the Victorian Electoral Commission's funding guidance (vec.vic.gov.au independent-candidate and registered-party funding pages, accessed 2026-10-11), a candidate or party qualifies for public election funding if elected or if they receive at least 4% of first-preference votes in their contest. Funding is paid against actual campaign expenditure, and advance payments must be repaid if the threshold is missed.
For the Council, the contest is the whole Northern Victoria Region, so the 4% test is measured against region-wide first preferences. Per-vote rates are indexed each year (VEC indexation page lists $3.84 per vote for upper-house candidates for 2026-27); the VEC says its political-finance rules changed in 2026, so check current guidance for exact figures.