Legislative Assembly · District of Pascoe Vale
Yasemin Shamsili
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Pascoe Vale›
Pascoe Vale is a Labor seat in Melbourne's inner north, taking in Pascoe Vale, Coburg and parts of Brunswick West, and held by Labor since 1985. Anthony Cianflone won it in 2022 with 38.8% of first preferences and 52.0% to 48.0% against the Greens' Angelica Panopoulos after preferences, and is recontesting. The 2026 field is five candidates: Cianflone, the Greens' Panopoulos (recontesting), the Victorian Socialists' Yasemin Shamsili, Socialist Alliance's Jacob Andrewartha and Family First's Kathrine Ashton. No Liberal candidate has been identified, although the Liberals took 21.0% in 2022. Wikipedia's 2026 candidates table lists several of these names under the wrong parties, so parties here follow each party's own pages.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Public education funding and teacher pay, anti-racism and anti-fascist organising, housing affordability and public housing, health services, Palestine solidarity and council funding for social services.
"Both major parties offer austerity and division in the interests of big business, while the far right offers the same system dressed up in racism and scapegoating."
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 both major parties offer austerity in the interests of big business.
The party's fiscal policy would fund services with a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires, a 20% bank profits tax and a 20% super-profits tax on retailers earning over $100 million.
Crime and community safety
Names anti-racism and anti-fascist organising as priorities.
Housing affordability and supply
Names housing affordability and preserving public housing as priorities.
The party's housing policy would cut all residential rents 25% then freeze them for five years, and build at least 15,000 public housing units a year for ten years.
State government debt and fiscal management
The party's fiscal policy centres on new revenue including a 10% annual billionaire wealth tax; nothing on debt levels is attributed to Shamsili.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would make public transport free; nothing is attributed to Shamsili personally.
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
Names public education funding and teacher pay as priorities and works in the education sector.
A summary of the party's education policy says it would provide universal preschool and childcare and end NAPLAN testing.
Health and healthcare access
Names health services advocacy as a priority.
A summary of the party's health policy says it would fully fund public healthcare and expand free community clinics.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
A summary of the party's energy policies says it would move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy; nothing is attributed to Shamsili personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
A summary of the party's First Nations policy says it wants a treaty with material change beyond symbolic recognition; nothing is attributed to Shamsili personally.
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.
Shamsili runs on the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform, and her priorities match it. SSelf-stated — VS-SHAMSILI, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Yasemin Shamsili"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
Her profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — VS-SHAMSILIVictorian Socialists, "Yasemin Shamsili"View source
She is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Pascoe Vale results; the Victorian Socialists' candidates were Gerry Beaton (3.03%) in 2018 and Madaleine Hah (5.5%) in 2022. VVerified — WIKI-PV-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Pascoe Vale"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.
Shamsili has not previously contested an election. The Victorian Socialists' 2022 Pascoe Vale candidate polled 5.5%, above the 4% mark.