Legislative Assembly · District of Warrandyte
John Stanley
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Warrandyte›
Warrandyte is a Liberal seat in Melbourne's outer east, covering Warrandyte, North Warrandyte, Warrandyte South, Warranwood, Wonga Park, Parkwood and parts of Donvale and Doncaster East. Ryan Smith held it for 16 years and won it in 2022 with 47.3% of first preferences and 54.3% two-party-preferred against Labor. Nicole Werner won the seat at the 26 August 2023 by-election after his resignation, with 57.3% of first preferences and 71.0% against the Greens' Tomas Lightbody in the two-candidate count, and is recontesting. Local issues include the Suburban Rail Loop and densification around Doncaster, the Five Ways intersection and the Green Wedge. The 2026 field found is three candidates: Werner, One Nation's Mark Burnside and the Victorian Socialists' John Stanley. No Labor or Greens candidate has been found, and Wikipedia's 2026 table leaves Burnside and Stanley without party labels.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Expanding public health, housing and education, taxing corporations and the wealthy, higher wages, justice for Aboriginal people, climate action, Palestine, abortion rights and opposing racism and the far right.
"We need a totally different set of politics to what the major parties and One Nation are offering right now."
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 wage increases for workers and corporations and the wealthy taxed to fund services.
The party's fiscal policy would fund services with a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires and a 20% bank profits tax.
Crime and community safety
Names combating racism and far-right movements as priorities.
Housing affordability and supply
Wants public housing defended and housing expanded.
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 Stanley 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 public education expanded.
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 public health expanded.
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
Wants climate action and the planet protected.
A summary of the party's energy policies says it would move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Names justice for Aboriginal people as a priority.
A summary of the party's First Nations policy says it wants a treaty with material change beyond symbolic recognition.
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-JS, VS-POLICIES, VS-CANDIDATESVictorian Socialists, "John Stanley"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Candidates"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
Their profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — VS-JSVictorian Socialists, "John Stanley"View source
They are not among the candidates in the 2022 general election or the 2023 by-election; the party's by-election candidate was Colleen Bolger (3.8%). VVerified — WIKI-WAR-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Warrandyte"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.
Stanley has not previously contested an election. The Victorian Socialists' 2023 Warrandyte by-election candidate polled 3.8%, just under the 4% mark.