Legislative Assembly · District of South Barwon
Josh Geard
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — South Barwon›
South Barwon is a Labor-held seat on Geelong's southern fringe, taking in fast-growing suburbs such as Armstrong Creek, Charlemont and Mount Duneed. Darren Cheeseman won it in 2022 with 44.2% of first preferences and 59.8% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Andrew Katos. He was pushed out of the Labor caucus in 2024 over allegations of harassment of a staffer and sits as an independent, and he does not appear on The Tally Room's or Wikipedia's 2026 candidate lists, so the seat is effectively open. The 2026 field is seven candidates: Labor's Rebecca Thistleton, the Liberals' Libby Pettit, the Greens' Izzy Scherrer, One Nation's Josh Geard, the Victorian Socialists' Madilyn Gorman, Socialist Alliance's Freya Hedley and independent Ron Nelson. The Tally Room says an outer-suburban seat with no sitting MP could be vulnerable to One Nation.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Cost-of-living relief, infrastructure that matches suburban growth, public safety and police support, healthcare improvements and small business deregulation.
"I don't do spin and I don't do focus-group lines. I'm not here to become a career politician."
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 cost-of-living relief for struggling families as his first priority, saying residents are "working harder than ever and going backwards".
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
Names public safety and police support as priorities and wants frontline workers including police and firefighters backed.
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would tighten bail and sentencing for repeat youth offenders.
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 Geard personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Wants small business deregulation.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Names infrastructure development matching suburban growth as a priority and criticises government neglect of growing areas.
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 Geard personally.
Health and healthcare access
Names healthcare system improvements as a priority and wants nurses and paramedics backed.
Urban planning and housing density
Points to rapid suburban growth in Armstrong Creek, Charlemont and Mount Duneed outrunning infrastructure.
Climate and energy transition
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, opposes Net Zero by 2050; nothing is attributed to Geard personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would oppose and repeal Victoria's Statewide Treaty framework; nothing is attributed to Geard 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.
His themes sit within One Nation's statewide platform. SSelf-stated — ON-JG, ET-ON-POLICYOne Nation Victoria, "Josh Geard for South Barwon"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-JGOne Nation Victoria, "Josh Geard for South Barwon"View source
He is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 South Barwon results. VVerified — WIKI-SB-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of South Barwon"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.
Geard has not previously contested an election, so he has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest. One Nation did not field a South Barwon candidate in 2018 or 2022.