Legislative Assembly · District of Box Hill
Peter Fagg
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Box Hill›
Box Hill is a 29 km² district in Melbourne's east covering Box Hill, Box Hill North, Box Hill South, Mont Albert, Mont Albert North, most of Blackburn, and parts of Balwyn North, Burwood, Burwood East and Surrey Hills. It has been held by Labor's Paul Hamer since he won it from the Liberals in 2018. At the 2022 election he was re-elected with 57.2% of the two-party-preferred vote, a 7.2-point margin.
Background
Says he worked with Victorian government forest bodies from 1970 to 2010, in forest research, management and firefighting roles across various regions, per his Family First profile. SSelf-stated — FF-FAGG-2026Family First Party Australia, "Peter Fagg, Candidate for Box Hill"View source
The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation records a Peter Charles Fagg as a forester and silviculture consultant with the Forests Commission Victoria from 1971 and the Department of Sustainability and Environment until retiring in 2010, consistent with his profile; the match is by name and career, not confirmed by the candidate. VVerified — EOAS-FAGGEncyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, "Fagg, Peter Charles"View source
The same record notes he was made a Fellow of the Institute of Foresters of Australia in 2023. VVerified — EOAS-FAGGEncyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, "Fagg, Peter Charles"View source
Says he is president of both Blackburn High School's Chaplaincy Committee and its School Council. SSelf-stated — FF-FAGG-2026Family First Party Australia, "Peter Fagg, Candidate for Box Hill"View source
Has volunteered with LinC (Love in the name of Christ) for over 25 years and supports numerous charities. SSelf-stated — FF-FAGG-2026Family First Party Australia, "Peter Fagg, Candidate for Box Hill"View source
The same forestry record notes he coordinated CSIRO's Young Eucalypt Program in Victoria from 1986 to 1990. VVerified — EOAS-FAGGEncyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, "Fagg, Peter Charles"View source
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Supporting traditional marriage and family stability, and families being "a force for good" through Judeo-Christian values.
Affordable housing and reducing the cost of living.
Re-opening state forests for controlled, sustainable timber harvesting, and pausing the Suburban Rail Loop.
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 reducing the cost of living as a priority, without a specific measure.
Family First's national economic policy proposes cutting the small-business company tax rate for Australian-owned businesses.
Crime and community safety
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Housing affordability and supply
Names affordable housing as a priority.
Family First's national housing policy would release more land, cut "red and green tape", support modular housing and ban further foreign ownership where not reciprocated.
State government debt and fiscal management
His call to pause the Suburban Rail Loop is a spending position; no debt figure is attributed to him.
Family First's national economic policy commits to "a pathway towards fiscal responsibility by tackling government debt".
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Wants construction of the Suburban Rail Loop paused.
Eastern Melburnian's guide reports the same priority alongside keeping coal-fired power stations going.
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
Family First's national education policy would return the curriculum to reading, writing and arithmetic and encourage faith-based schools; nothing is attributed to Fagg personally, although he leads the Blackburn High School Council.
Health and healthcare access
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Opposes net zero policies, per his profile.
Wants coal-fired power stations kept going, per Eastern Melburnian.
Family First's national energy policy would end Net Zero targets, abolish renewable subsidies, keep coal-fired stations open and green-light nuclear power.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Regional and rural Victoria
Wants state forests re-opened for controlled, sustainable timber harvesting, drawing on his forestry career.
His recorded career is in silviculture of eucalypt forests, seed management, regeneration and post-bushfire recovery.
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.
The Suburban Rail Loop, part of which runs through the Box Hill area; he wants construction paused. SSelf-stated — FF-FAGG-2026Family First Party Australia, "Peter Fagg, Candidate for Box Hill"View source
Blackburn High School, where he is president of the Chaplaincy Committee and School Council. SSelf-stated — FF-FAGG-2026Family First Party Australia, "Peter Fagg, Candidate for Box Hill"View source
Fagg's priorities (traditional marriage, timber harvesting, opposing net zero, pausing the Suburban Rail Loop) sit within Family First's national platform. SSelf-stated — FF-FAGG-2026, FF-POLICY-ENERGYFamily First Party Australia, "Peter Fagg, Candidate for Box Hill"View sourceFamily First Party Australia, "Energy Policy"View source
No point of divergence was found. His forestry policy is his most distinctive content, and it draws on his career.
Track record & prior candidacies
His Family First profile mentions no previous campaign. SSelf-stated — FF-FAGG-2026Family First Party Australia, "Peter Fagg, Candidate for Box Hill"View source
He is not among the candidates in earlier Box Hill state elections; Family First's 2022 candidate was Gary Ong (1.8%). VVerified — WIKI-BOXHILL-RESULTSWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Box Hill"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.
Fagg has not previously contested an election, so he has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest. Family First's 2022 Box Hill candidate polled 1.8%, well below the 4% mark.