Legislative Council · Western Victoria Region
Ben Nunquam
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Western Victoria Region›
Western Victoria elects 5 MLCs and comprises 11 Legislative Assembly districts across Geelong and Victoria's south-west — Bellarine, Eureka, Geelong, Lara, Lowan, Melton, Polwarth, Ripon, South Barwon, South-West Coast and Wendouree. A bill abolishing group voting tickets for the Council has passed the Assembly and is before the Legislative Council's 11–13 August sitting.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Job security for working people, better conditions for casual workers, public housing, Treaty consultation, Palestinian liberation, equitable treatment of migrants and refugees, and LGBTIQ+ rights.
"We will work together to make Western Victoria and the rest of the state a place that allows working people to flourish and contests unmitigated corporate greed."
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 economic and job security for working people and better conditions for casual workers.
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
Campaigns against racism and fascism and for equitable treatment of migrants and refugees.
Housing affordability and supply
Wants state-funded public housing and high-density regional housing.
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
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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Health and healthcare access
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Wants Treaty consultation with First Nations and Aboriginal deaths in custody addressed.
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-BN, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Ben Nunquam"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
Wikipedia's 2026 candidates table lists them under the Western Victoria Region. RReported — WIKI-2026CANDSWikipedia, "Candidates of the 2026 Victorian state election"View source
Track record & prior candidacies
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.
Nunquam has not previously contested a state election on the sources retrieved, and the Victorian Socialists's earlier results in this region were not retrieved.