The Public Ledger

Legislative Assembly · District of Broadmeadows

Mutullah Can Yolbulan

Last verified 22 Sept 2026

Victorian Socialists
Candidate photo — pending
Seat context — Broadmeadows›
Illustration pending

The Legislative Assembly district of Broadmeadows covers roughly 47 km² in Melbourne's outer north, including Broadmeadows, Campbellfield, Coolaroo, Dallas, Fawkner, Jacana and Meadow Heights, plus parts of Glenroy, Roxburgh Park, Somerton and Westmeadows. It is one of Labor's safest seats, held by the party for almost all of its history since the district's creation in 1955. At the 2022 election Kathleen Matthews-Ward won it for Labor with 51.94% after distribution of preferences against the Liberal candidate.

Identity & ballot position§ 01
House
Legislative Assembly
Seat
Broadmeadows
Incumbent
No
Party
Victorian Socialists
Ballot position
Not yet assigned
§ 02

Background

Occupation / profession
Works as an application developer in the IT industry, and lives in Jacana, within the electorate. SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View source
Prior public roles

Says he helped organise and spoke at rallies outside Hume City Council calling for a council motion to divest from companies aiding Israel's actions in Gaza and to support Palestinian refugees. SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View source

Says he was part of a successful 2025 community campaign for Hume City Council to build a new park in Broadmeadows. SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View source

Says he has taken part in pickets in Campbellfield connected to Palestinian solidarity activism. SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View source

Local ties

Currently lives in Jacana, within the Broadmeadows electorate. SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View source

Moved to Australia from Türkiye in 2013 to pursue higher education. SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View source

Education
Moved to Australia in 2013 specifically to pursue higher education, though his profile does not name an institution, course, or qualification. SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View source
§ 03

Platform

Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.

Stated top campaign priorities

Elect representatives to stand against "the destructive profit-driven agenda of big business and its allies in all levels of government."

Cites deepening social inequality, stagnant wages, and deteriorating essential services in Melbourne's north.

Raises disappearing local parks, and inaccessible or cancelled services for young, elderly and migrant residents.

Opposes substandard rental housing conditions and state government cuts to public housing.

"I can't promise you we will win every fight but I can guarantee you that I will not give up."

SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View source

What Victorians say matters most

5 poll-led issues

Cost 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

iWhat this coversPosition on everyday household costs — groceries, utilities, insurance, transport.
Candidate’s priority7 / 10

Party platform (not candidate-specific): a "$100 trolley" scheme letting every household buy a week's groceries at cut prices, funded from supermarket profits rather than general taxation.

Party platform: an immediate cap on household electricity and gas bills, funded by windfall taxes on energy companies, and wiping existing household utility debts and arrears.

Party platform: make all public transport permanently free, funded by ending private operator contracts.

SSelf-stated — VS-FOODVictorian Socialists, "Good food and nutrition for all"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-POWERVictorian Socialists, "Make power affordable and sustainable"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-TRANSPORTVictorian Socialists, "Accessible and sustainable transport"View source

Crime and community safety

iWhat this coversPosition on crime rates, policing and community safety, including youth crime and bail law.
Candidate’s priority6 / 10

Party platform: raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16, with a presumption in favour of bail except where there is "an immediate and identifiable risk to a person's safety."

Party platform: frames crime as rooted in inequality rather than individual failing, favouring rehabilitative and restorative justice addressed through housing, jobs, education and health funding.

Party platform: disarm police on patrol, remove military-style weapons from police, reject AI/algorithmic policing, and establish an independent police ombudsman and a Royal Commission into policing and corruption.

SSelf-stated — VS-POLICEVictorian Socialists, "Police, prisons and human rights"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-POLICEVictorian Socialists, "Police, prisons and human rights"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-POLICEVictorian Socialists, "Police, prisons and human rights"View source

Housing affordability and supply

iWhat this coversPosition on home ownership costs, rental affordability, and housing supply/planning.
Candidate’s priority9 / 10

Has raised substandard rental housing conditions and state government cuts to public housing as concerns specific to Broadmeadows.

Party platform: an immediate 25% cut to residential rents followed by a five-year freeze, then rent rises capped at half of CPI or wage growth, whichever is lower, enforced by a proposed Rental Inspectorate Victoria.

Party platform: build 15,000 new public housing units a year for at least ten years, and stop demolition of the 44 public housing towers in favour of refurbishing them.

Party platform: mandatory inclusionary zoning of 30% public housing on all private developments, a cap of two properties per owner, and a ban on owning more than five.

SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-HOUSINGVictorian Socialists, "Housing for all"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-HOUSINGVictorian Socialists, "Housing for all"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-HOUSINGVictorian Socialists, "Housing for all"View source

State government debt and fiscal management

iWhat this coversPosition on debt levels and what they mean for future taxes and service funding.
Candidate’s priority8 / 10

Party platform rejects austerity, arguing Victoria has sufficient resources but unequal distribution; funds spending via a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires and a 5% annual luxury property tax on the top 1% of residences.

Party platform: double payroll tax on large companies with wage bills over $5 million, a 20% bank profits tax on the five biggest banks, and a 20% super-profits tax on retailers earning over $100 million.

Party platform: raise mineral royalties from 2.75–10% to a flat 35%, and end Crown Casino's $1-a-year lease in favour of market rent.

SSelf-stated — VS-PAYFORITVictorian Socialists, "How will we pay for it?"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-PAYFORITVictorian Socialists, "How will we pay for it?"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-PAYFORITVictorian Socialists, "How will we pay for it?"View source

Infrastructure and public transport delivery

iWhat this coversPosition on congestion, commute reliability, and cost/timeline overruns on major projects.
Candidate’s priority4 / 10

Party platform: reverse privatisation of Victoria's trains, trams and buses to full public ownership, with turn-up-and-go frequency on high-frequency routes and some lines running through the night.

Party platform: extend rail to the northern and western growth corridors and build an orbital bus network connecting suburbs to each other, not only to the CBD.

SSelf-stated — VS-TRANSPORTVictorian Socialists, "Accessible and sustainable transport"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-TRANSPORTVictorian Socialists, "Accessible and sustainable transport"View source

Also on the record

6 substance issues

These don't top “biggest issue” polling, but carry real 2026 policy weight and genuine differences between parties.

Education and training

iWhat this coversPosition on school funding and infrastructure, curriculum and teaching quality, university funding and research, and TAFE/VET.
Candidate’s priority9 / 10

Party platform: reduce class sizes to a maximum of 15 (from a current maximum of 25 in secondary and an average of 26 in primary), funding a "Gonski-plus" model for public school spending.

Party platform: hire 12,000 additional teachers and support staff across the state's 1,600 public schools, fully fund the AEU's log of claims in the 2026 Schools Agreement, and abolish VCE in favour of a holistic, strengths-based curriculum.

Party platform: abolish all university fees, reinstate free tertiary education, and boost TAFE funding so most VET providers are publicly funded and controlled.

SSelf-stated — VS-EDUCATIONVictorian Socialists, "Early childhood, primary and secondary education"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-EDUCATIONVictorian Socialists, "Early childhood, primary and secondary education"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-UNIVictorian Socialists, "Our universities are not for profit"View source

Health and healthcare access

iWhat this coversPosition on hospital and clinic funding, GP/specialist access and wait times, and ambulance performance including ramping.
Candidate’s priority8 / 10

Has named insufficient healthcare services among his concerns for the electorate.

Party platform: lift public hospital beds to at least 3 per 1,000 Victorians, and raise healthcare worker wages at least 2.5% above inflation immediately and again in 2028.

Party platform: make ambulance services free by removing Ambulance Victoria membership requirements, and establish public community health centres with free GP, dental, mental health and allied-health access.

SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-HEALTHVictorian Socialists, "Fix the health crisis"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-HEALTHVictorian Socialists, "Fix the health crisis"View source

Urban planning and housing density

iWhat this coversPosition on zoning and density, heritage and consultation processes, urban sprawl versus infill, and access to parks and green space.
Candidate’s priority7 / 10

Has raised concern about local parks disappearing to residential development in Broadmeadows.

Party platform: mandatory 30% canopy tree coverage on new developments (doubled via levies in the western suburbs), and a permanent extension of Melbourne's Green Wedges to bar rezoning of farmland and green space.

Party platform: no-compensation public acquisition of land where owners unlawfully demolish heritage buildings, and developer liability for structural defects for 30 years.

SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-CITIESVictorian Socialists, "Making our cities more liveable"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-CITIESVictorian Socialists, "Making our cities more liveable"View source

Climate and energy transition

iWhat this coversPosition on renewable energy targets, offshore wind delivery, transmission infrastructure, and the reinstated State Electricity Commission.
Candidate’s priority9 / 10

Party platform: bring Victoria's energy infrastructure back into public ownership — starting with distribution networks and extending to generation and retail — with no shareholder compensation.

Party platform: transition to a 100% renewable grid via offshore wind, utility-scale solar and wind, grid-scale batteries and pumped hydro, expanding the Neighbourhood Battery Initiative and rooftop solar on public housing and schools.

Party platform: cut emissions 75% below 2005 levels by 2030, reach a zero-carbon economy by 2035 and net-negative by 2040, and close the Loy Yang A power station by 2030 — five years early — with worker and community job guarantees.

SSelf-stated — VS-POWERVictorian Socialists, "Make power affordable and sustainable"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-POWERVictorian Socialists, "Make power affordable and sustainable"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-CLIMATEVictorian Socialists, "Addressing climate change and protecting our environment"View source

Treaty and First Nations affairs

iWhat this coversPosition on implementing the Statewide Treaty and the new Gellung Warl representative body, and on future local treaties.
Candidate’s priority5 / 10

Party platform: treaty processes are "only meaningful if they deliver material change," not symbolic recognition alongside ongoing incarceration, child removal and dispossession.

Party platform: extend the powers of statewide and local treaties and support increased First Nations control over First Nations affairs; does not name the Gellung Warl representative body specifically.

Party platform: fund a reparations tax on commercial and investment properties, stolen-wages compensation, and recognition of 26 January as Invasion Day; implement the Yoorrook Justice Commission's and Bringing Them Home's recommendations.

SSelf-stated — VS-FIRSTNATIONSVictorian Socialists, "First Nations"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-FIRSTNATIONSVictorian Socialists, "First Nations"View sourceSSelf-stated — VS-FIRSTNATIONSVictorian Socialists, "First Nations"View source

Regional and rural Victoria

iWhat this coversPosition on water security, the native-forest-logging transition, road and service funding, and population decline in country towns.
Candidate’s priority2 / 10

Party platform (statewide, not seat-relevant to outer-suburban Broadmeadows): a dedicated rural and regional roads maintenance program, and reversing rural population decline via public housing in regional "worker towns."

SSelf-stated — VS-REGIONALVictorian Socialists, "A fair go for rural and regional Victoria"View source

Local & party context

2 fields

Not 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.

Seat-specific issues

Has named deterioration of essential services in Melbourne's north, and a lack of services for young, elderly and migrant residents, as local concerns. SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View source

Has raised the loss of local parks to residential development, and substandard rental and public housing conditions, as specific to Broadmeadows. SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View source

Says he helped organise rallies outside Hume City Council for a motion to divest council investments connected to Israel and support Palestinian refugees, and was part of a successful 2025 campaign for a new Broadmeadows park. SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View source

Party platform alignment

His own stated concerns — public housing cuts, substandard rentals, parks lost to development, service gaps for young, elderly and migrant residents, and healthcare shortfalls — map directly onto the party's Housing, Urban Planning and Health platforms, closely aligned rather than a departure. SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULAN, VS-HOUSING, VS-HEALTHVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Housing for all"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Fix the health crisis"View source

No candidate-specific numeric or mechanism-level commitments beyond the party's own were found; every detailed figure found (rent-freeze percentages, housing targets, tax rates, emissions targets) comes from the statewide policy pages, not a personal statement.

V VerifiedS Self-statedR Reported— hover or tap any mark for what it means
§ 04

Track record & prior candidacies

Terms served
No record found of ever holding elected office at council, state, or federal level. VVerified — VEC-HUME2024Victorian Electoral Commission, "2024 Council Election Results — Hume City Council (Merlynston Creek Ward)" (2024)View source
Portfolios held
No ministerial, shadow ministerial, committee, or party leadership role found, consistent with never having held elected office. VVerified — VEC-HUME2024Victorian Electoral Commission, "2024 Council Election Results — Hume City Council (Merlynston Creek Ward)" (2024)View source
Notable votes, bills, committee work
Not applicable — no legislative or council voting record exists, as he has never been elected to any parliament or council.
Previous candidacies

Contested the Merlynston Creek Ward of Hume City Council in the October 2024 council election, one of nine candidates for one vacancy. VVerified — VEC-HUME2024Victorian Electoral Commission, "2024 Council Election Results — Hume City Council (Merlynston Creek Ward)" (2024)View source

Received 855 first-preference votes (7.78%) and was not elected; Karen Sherry won the seat with 33.29% first preferences, defeating Bassima Hawli 56.29%–43.71% after preference distribution. VVerified — VEC-HUME2024Victorian Electoral Commission, "2024 Council Election Results — Hume City Council (Merlynston Creek Ward)" (2024)View source

Did not contest the 2020 Hume City Council election, and no record found of contesting Merri-bek (formerly Moreland) City Council in 2024. VVerified — VEC-HUME2020, VEC-MERRIBEK2024Victorian Electoral Commission, "2020 Council Election Results — Hume City Council" (2020)View sourceVictorian Electoral Commission, "2024 Council Election Results — Merri-bek City Council" (2024)View source

Is not a prior candidate for the state district of Broadmeadows — the Victorian Socialists' 2022 Broadmeadows candidate was Omar Hassan (2,795 votes, 8.0%), not Yolbulan — and no record found of him contesting the federal Division of Calwell, which covers Broadmeadows. VVerified — WP-BROADMEADOWS-ELECTORATE, WP-CALWELLWikipedia, "Electoral district of Broadmeadows"View sourceWikipedia, "Division of Calwell"View source

His own Victorian Socialists profile does not mention the 2024 council run or any other prior candidacy, framing his political history purely as community activism rather than office-seeking before 2026. SSelf-stated — VS-YOLBULANVictorian Socialists, "Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile"View source

§ 05–08

Campaign, money & endorsements

Campaign logistics

Social
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Contact
mutu.yolbulan@victoriansocialists.org.au — campaign email published on Victorian Socialists' own candidate page.
How-to-vote card
Not yet published

Endorsements & Donations

Organisational
None reported in sources reviewed.
Individual
None reported in sources reviewed.
VEC disclosure
Not yet available.
Public funding

Mutullah Can Yolbulan would be eligible for Victorian state election public campaign funding if he receives at least 4% of first-preference votes in Broadmeadows, or is elected. Funding is then calculated as the lesser of his audited campaign-expenditure statement or the statutory per-vote maximum — currently $7.70 per first-preference vote for Legislative Assembly candidates — with amounts indexed annually on 1 July per the Consumer Price Index.

As a Victorian Socialists candidate, any funding claim would be made through the party, which has been continuously registered with the VEC since 6 June 2018 (re-registered 7 November 2024) and remains in active status. No donation disclosure specific to him has been lodged with the VEC as of this date — the expected position for a non-incumbent candidate this early in the cycle (per the VEC's own funding guidance, accessed 2026-09-22).

Dataset housekeeping

Nomination status
Expected — Victorian Socialists' own website lists him as their candidate for Broadmeadows in 2026. VEC nomination cannot be confirmed before nominations open 4 November 2026.
Last verified
22 Sept 2026
Sources
See the Source register below — every V/S/R mark on this page names its specific source on hover.

Source register

VS-YOLBULAN
Victorian Socialists, “Mutullah Can Yolbulan – Candidate profile” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 19 Aug 2026
VS-HOUSING
Victorian Socialists, “Housing for all” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VS-POWER
Victorian Socialists, “Make power affordable and sustainable” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VS-POLICE
Victorian Socialists, “Police, prisons and human rights” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VS-FIRSTNATIONS
Victorian Socialists, “First Nations” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VS-HEALTH
Victorian Socialists, “Fix the health crisis” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VS-EDUCATION
Victorian Socialists, “Early childhood, primary and secondary education” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VS-UNI
Victorian Socialists, “Our universities are not for profit” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VS-TRANSPORT
Victorian Socialists, “Accessible and sustainable transport” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VS-CITIES
Victorian Socialists, “Making our cities more liveable” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VS-PAYFORIT
Victorian Socialists, “How will we pay for it?” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VS-REGIONAL
Victorian Socialists, “A fair go for rural and regional Victoria” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VS-FOOD
Victorian Socialists, “Good food and nutrition for all” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VS-CLIMATE
Victorian Socialists, “Addressing climate change and protecting our environment” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VEC-HUME2024
Victorian Electoral Commission, “2024 Council Election Results — Hume City Council (Merlynston Creek Ward)” (2024) — Official government register — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VEC-HUME2020
Victorian Electoral Commission, “2020 Council Election Results — Hume City Council” (2020) — Official government register — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
VEC-MERRIBEK2024
Victorian Electoral Commission, “2024 Council Election Results — Merri-bek City Council” (2024) — Official government register — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
WP-BROADMEADOWS-ELECTORATE
Wikipedia, “Electoral district of Broadmeadows” — Encyclopedia (crowdsourced) — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026
WP-CALWELL
Wikipedia, “Division of Calwell” — Encyclopedia (crowdsourced) — View source · accessed 22 Sept 2026