Jessica Smith

Personally frames the issue as a matter of political will rather than scarcity: 'there is no shortage of money... only a lack of willingness in government to tax the billionaires and big corporations.'

Victorian Socialists' statewide platform (party-line, not candidate-specific) commits to an immediate cap on household electricity and gas prices and wiping existing household utility debt, alongside free public transport.

Funded via a wealth tax on billionaires and higher taxes on large corporations, mining royalties and banks.

No personal statement from Smith found on this issue.

Victorian Socialists' statewide platform (party-line, not candidate-specific) commits to raising the age of criminal responsibility to 16, ending mandatory sentencing, decriminalising begging, banning new prison construction.

Removing military-style weapons and firearms from routine policing, creating an independent police ombudsman, and progressively redirecting police funding toward community safety, mental health and social supports.

Personally: 'advocates for high-quality, well-maintained public housing, and much more of it, to help address the housing crisis.'

Victorian Socialists' statewide platform (party-line) commits to a 25% cut to residential rents followed by a five-year freeze, a new Rental Inspectorate Victoria.

At least 15,000 new public housing units per year for a decade, shared-ownership units capped at $400,000 with 2% loans, a target of ending rough sleeping within six months.

A vacant-land tax, a five-property ownership cap, a luxury-property tax on the top 1% of residences, and a minimum 30% public housing requirement in private developments.

Personally frames government revenue as a matter of taxing billionaires and big corporations rather than cutting services (see cost-of-living).

Victorian Socialists' statewide platform (party-line) proposes a 10%-a-year wealth tax on resident billionaires, a 5%-a-year luxury-property tax on the top 1% of residences, doubled payroll tax on large employers and on casual employment, mining royalties raised to a flat 35%.

A 20% bank profits tax on the five largest banks, a 20% super-profits tax on retailers earning over $100 million, market rent on Crown Casino's site, and ending private-school tax exemptions.

Personally: 'supports better-connected and higher-frequency public transport for equitable city access.'

Victorian Socialists' statewide platform (party-line) commits to permanently fare-free public transport, turn-up-and-go frequency, at least $140 million a year in cycling infrastructure.

Removing tolls and returning toll roads to public ownership, a publicly owned EV charging network, and returning the Port of Melbourne and Melbourne Airport to public ownership.

Her most developed and locally specific issue: says Brighton Beach Primary School 'was assessed as the second-most dilapidated school in the state in 2023,' citing termite-infested classrooms, cracked walls and ageing demountables.

Criticises the state government for underfunding schools 'to crisis levels' with the lowest-paid, most overworked teaching and support staff in the country.

The underlying 2023 dilapidation ranking has not been independently verified against a Department of Education facilities-condition source in this research pass.

Victorian Socialists' statewide platform (party-line) commits to ending state funding for high-fee private schools, implementing a 'Gonski-plus' public-school funding floor, fully funding the AEU's log of claims in the 2026 schools agreement, capping class sizes at 15.

Hiring 12,000 additional teachers and support staff, mandating a qualified librarian in every public school, and free lunches for all government primary students.

No personal statement from Smith found on this issue.

Victorian Socialists' statewide platform (party-line) commits to raising healthcare worker wages at least 2.5 points above inflation with a 32-hour week at no loss of pay, at least 3 public hospital beds per 1,000 Victorians, new public hospitals in growth corridors and regional areas.

Free ambulance access for everyone, transitioning private hospitals to public ownership, and free GP, dental, mental-health and abortion access through public community health centres.

No personal statement from Smith found on this issue, and no Brighton-specific planning matter (foreshore, heritage overlay, a named development) attributed to her despite this being a natural fit for a bayside seat.

Victorian Socialists' statewide platform (party-line) commits to a minimum 30% low-cost/public housing requirement in new developments, mandatory 30% tree-canopy coverage, developer liability for defects (30 years structural, 7 years non-structural), and developer levies funding local social infrastructure.

No personal statement from Smith found on this issue.

Victorian Socialists' statewide platform (party-line) commits to cutting emissions 75% below 2005 levels by 2030, a zero-carbon economy by 2035 and net-negative by 2040, closing the Loy Yang A coal plant by 2030 (five years earlier than currently scheduled).

Reversing the 2025 offshore gas exploration program, banning new fossil-fuel projects, 100% electric new car sales by 2035, and public ownership of energy distribution alongside an immediate cap on household electricity and gas prices.

No personal statement from Smith found on this issue.

Victorian Socialists' statewide platform (party-line) states sovereignty over land, water and sky 'was never ceded,' argues treaty processes are 'only meaningful if they deliver material change, not just symbolic recognition.'

Proposes a reparations tax on commercial and investment properties, a stolen-wages payment scheme, funded First Nations language teaching in schools, recognising 26 January as 'Invasion Day,' and implementing the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody's recommendations.