Legislative Assembly · District of Thomastown
Priya Reddy
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Thomastown›
Thomastown is a very safe Labor seat in Melbourne's northern suburbs, covering Thomastown, Lalor and parts of Epping in the Whittlesea area, and held by Labor since it was created in 1985. Bronwyn Halfpenny, a former union official, has held it since 2010 and won it in 2022 with 51.7% of first preferences and 66.0% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Gurdawar Singh, with the Victorian Socialists' Kelly Cvetkova third on 7.7%. She is recontesting. The 2026 field found is three candidates: Halfpenny, the Victorian Socialists' Priya Reddy and One Nation's Nadia Anthony. No Liberal or Greens candidate has been found, and Wikipedia's 2026 table leaves Reddy's party blank.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
The Northern Hospital crisis, opposing the Wollert waste incinerator, fully funded public schools, healthcare and housing funding, and justice for Palestine, refugees and the environment.
"As a candidate for state parliament, I'm committed to standing up for this community and fighting for a society that puts people before profit."
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
The party's fiscal policy would fund services with a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires and a 20% bank profits tax; nothing on cost of living is attributed to Reddy personally.
Crime and community safety
A summary of the party's policing policy says it would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16; nothing is attributed to Reddy personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Names housing funding as a priority.
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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would make public transport free; nothing is attributed to Reddy 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
Wants fully funded public schools and better conditions for teaching staff.
A summary of the party's education policy says it would provide universal preschool and childcare and end NAPLAN testing.
Health and healthcare access
Wants the Northern Hospital crisis resolved and its workers' conditions improved, and more healthcare funding.
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
Opposes the proposed Wollert waste incinerator and names environmental justice as a priority.
A summary of the party's energy policies says it would move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy.
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 Reddy 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.
Their priorities match the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform. SSelf-stated — VS-REDDY, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Priya Reddy"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
No point of divergence was found.
The Tally Room lists them as the Victorian Socialists' Thomastown candidate. RReported — TALLYROOM-THOThe Tally Room, "Thomastown — Victoria 2026"View source
Track record & prior candidacies
Their profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — VS-REDDYVictorian Socialists, "Priya Reddy"View source
They are not among the candidates in the 2022 Thomastown results; the Victorian Socialists' candidate was Kelly Cvetkova (7.7%). VVerified — WIKI-THO-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Thomastown"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.
Reddy has not previously contested an election. The Victorian Socialists' 2022 Thomastown candidate polled 7.7%, well above the 4% mark.