Labor is promising school and community upgrades, the Liberals are pledging more police and $5 billion for roads, while independent and Greens candidates are pitching household electrification subsidies and cost-of-living relief across Ringwood, Hawthorn and Kew.
With Ringwood MP Will Fowles stepping aside and independent challengers targeting Liberal-held Hawthorn and Kew, we reached out to candidates to hear how they are pitching for your vote in the upcoming November 28 Victorian election.
Labor’s plan: One of the three Labor candidates responded to our questions, but did so via email.
Ringwood candidate Rachel Halse said local schools, hospitals and community infrastructure were among residents’ biggest concerns.
Labor candidate for Ringwood, Rachel Halse
🗣️ “Free dental clinics and cutting land tax are just some of the policies that I know will make a real difference for families across Ringwood,” she said. “For me, it’s about making sure families can get ahead, not just get by.”
Liberals’ vows for change: The leader of the Liberal Party in Victoria and Kew MP Jess Wilson was the only one of three candidates who answered our questions, but only via a written response.
The leader of the Liberal Party in Victoria and Kew MP, Jess Wilson
She said a Liberal government would recruit an additional 3,000 police officers and invest $5 billion in fixing the state’s roads, while other goals would include reducing crime and the cost of living and targeting government spending and corruption.
🗣️ “I want Victoria to be a place where families feel safe, businesses can thrive, young people have opportunities and hard work is rewarded,” Wilson said. “Locally, I’ve pledged upgrades to Kew East Primary School and Greythorn Primary School, as well as safe pedestrian crossings on Barkers Road and at the Willsmere roundabout.”
An independent voice: All three of the independent candidates responded to our questions, with Hawthorn candidate Shima Ibuki speaking over the phone.
🗣️ “I am pretty disillusioned with how the major parties are too often influenced by party politics, lobbyists and vested interests, rather than the people that they are elected to represent,” she said.
Kew independent Sophie Torney pledged subsidies of up to $6,000 for low and middle-income households to make electrification and home energy upgrades.
Her local priorities included replacing the Willsmere Road roundabout with a signalised intersection, installing noise walls along the North East Link and addressing hooning on Yarra Boulevard.
🗣️ “One of the most striking things I’m hearing on the doorstep is from lifelong Liberal voters who tell me they no longer recognise the party they have supported for decades,” Torney said. “They are deeply concerned about the direction it is taking on issues like climate and reconciliation, and about the growing influence of One Nation on the political debate.”
Endorsed by Voices for Deakin and a Whitehorse councillor since 2016, Ringwood independent nominee Prue Cutts said she would focus on cost of living, community safety, roads, housing affordability and delivering better health, education and transport infrastructure.
🗣️ “My approach is simple: listen, advocate and deliver — with proof, not just promises,” she said.
Independent candidates Shima Ibuki (Hawthorn), Sophie Torney (Kew) and Prue Cutts (Ringwood)
One Nation, many goals: Two of the three One Nation nominees responded, both in writing.
Hawthorn candidate Paul Pribilovics and Ringwood hopeful John O’Connor both identified crime as their main priority.
“Today, too many Victorians see offenders going in and out of the justice system and feel that nothing is changing,” O’Connor said.
Pribilovics said another aim of his would be to wind back the government’s Activity Centres program.
One Nation candidates John O’Connor (Ringwood) and Paul Pribilovics (Hawthorn)
One Nation Victoria’s 64-page “Real Deal” policy booklet also promises to cancel the Suburban Rail Loop, prioritise the Melbourne Airport Rail Link and introduce a public pothole reporting system.
Green deals: All three Greens candidates responded via email.
Hawthorn candidate Kylie Rocha, Kew nominee Jackie Carter and Ringwood challenger Amy Mills highlighted plans to reduce grocery bills by 30 percent through publicly owned supermarkets and allocate five percent of the transport budget to safe cycling routes, including the proposed Box Hill-to-Hawthorn trail.
Greens candidates Jackie Carter (Kew), Kylie Rocha (Hawthorn) and Amy Mills (Ringwood)
Rocha said if elected, she would advocate for less corporate lobbying of politicians.
🗣️ “Progress is too slow across areas like climate, housing affordability and grocery prices, and when you look at who is donating to the major parties, you begin to understand why,” she said.