Legislative Assembly · District of Ovens Valley
James Rouel
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Ovens Valley›
Ovens Valley is a rural seat in Victoria's north-east, created in 2014 and covering about 10,558 sq km along the Ovens and Murray valleys, including Wangaratta, Yarrawonga, Cobram, Myrtleford, Bright and Glenrowan. The Nationals' Tim McCurdy has held it since its creation (and its predecessor Murray Valley from 2010); in 2022 he won 52.1% of first preferences and 68.0% to 32.0% two-party-preferred against Labor's Zuvele Leschen. Under the Coalition agreement the Liberals are not standing against him. The 2026 field is four candidates: McCurdy, independent Steve Manning (endorsed by the community group Voices for Ovens Valley), the Greens' Ben Gilbert and One Nation's James Rouel. An August 2026 ACM/Border Mail readers' survey found One Nation leading voter intention at 33%, ahead of independents (20%) and the Nationals (17%), and no Labor candidate has been identified.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Equitable funding and support for country communities, help for working families and pensioners facing rising costs, and support for small businesses.
Wants rural communities to be politically significant "rather than overlooked".
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
Wants to support working families and pensioners facing rising costs and help small businesses with increased expenses.
The One Nation Victoria platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would remove insurance duty on premiums and end renewable subsidies.
Crime and community safety
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Housing affordability and supply
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would ban foreign ownership of residential property; nothing is attributed to Rouel personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Wants to help small businesses manage increased costs.
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
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would establish elected school boards with a parent majority; nothing is attributed to Rouel personally.
Health and healthcare access
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, opposes Net Zero by 2050; nothing is attributed to Rouel personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Regional and rural Victoria
Says "postcode affects the support you can access. It shouldn't decide whether your community matters", and wants country communities to receive equitable funding.
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 themes sit within One Nation's statewide platform. SSelf-stated — ON-JR, ET-ON-POLICYOne Nation Victoria, "James Rouel for Ovens Valley"View sourceAustralian Election Tracker, "One Nation policy profile — 2026 Victorian election"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
His profile mentions no prior campaign. SSelf-stated — ON-JROne Nation Victoria, "James Rouel for Ovens Valley"View source
He is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Ovens Valley results. VVerified — WIKI-OV-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Ovens Valley"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.
Rouel has not previously contested an election, so he has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest. One Nation did not field an Ovens Valley candidate in 2018 or 2022.