Legislative Assembly · District of Ovens Valley
Steve Manning
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
Is the lead educator in electrotechnology at GOTAFE and previously ran his own electrician business for over a decade. RReported — BORDERMAIL-MANNINGThe Border Mail, "Independent Steve Manning challenges Tim McCurdy in Ovens Valley" (19 Aug 2026)View source
Voices for Ovens Valley describes him as a local tradie and TAFE lecturer. RReported — NOFIBS-MANNINGNo Fibs, "Voices for Ovens Valley endorse local tradie and TAFE lecturer for #VicVotes" (19 Aug 2026)View source
Is a board member of Project 365, a Wangaratta-based mental health initiative, and initiated a mental health round in the Ovens and Murray Football Netball League. RReported — BORDERMAIL-MANNING, NOFIBS-MANNINGThe Border Mail, "Independent Steve Manning challenges Tim McCurdy in Ovens Valley" (19 Aug 2026)View sourceNo Fibs, "Voices for Ovens Valley endorse local tradie and TAFE lecturer for #VicVotes" (19 Aug 2026)View source
Co-led his football club and Milawa in publicly opposing family and domestic violence, working with the Centre Against Violence. RReported — BORDERMAIL-MANNING, NOFIBS-MANNINGThe Border Mail, "Independent Steve Manning challenges Tim McCurdy in Ovens Valley" (19 Aug 2026)View sourceNo Fibs, "Voices for Ovens Valley endorse local tradie and TAFE lecturer for #VicVotes" (19 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.
Health access and cost of living, local healthcare investment, family and domestic violence prevention, and mental health in sport.
Says: "I don't have any allegiances left or right."
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
Names health access and cost of living as his priorities.
Crime and community safety
Speaks out on family and domestic violence prevention and co-led an anti-violence campaign with his club.
Housing affordability and supply
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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
Is the lead educator in electrotechnology at GOTAFE.
Health and healthcare access
Names health access and local healthcare investment as priorities, and sits on the Project 365 mental health board.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Regional and rural Victoria
Is a community-backed independent from Wangaratta challenging the Nationals in a rural seat.
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.
Track record & prior candidacies
No earlier election candidacy was found, so this appears to be his first.
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.
Manning has not previously contested an election. Independents receive funding only if they reach the 4% first-preference threshold; an ACM readers' survey found independents at 20% in the seat, which is a survey, not a result.