Legislative Council · Eastern Victoria Region
Danielle Burridge
Last verified 11 Oct 2026
Seat context — Eastern Victoria Region›
Eastern Victoria elects 5 MLCs and comprises 11 Legislative Assembly districts spanning the Mornington Peninsula through the Dandenongs to Gippsland — Bass, Evelyn, Gippsland East, Gippsland South, Hastings, Monbulk, Mornington, Morwell, Narracan, Nepean and Pakenham. 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
Completing a research thesis for a Psychology Honours degree; the party profile does not name the institution or give a paid occupation. SSelf-stated — LC-BURRIDGELegalise Cannabis Victoria, "Danielle Burridge - Candidate for Eastern Victoria"View source
Became the carer for their father after his terminal cancer diagnosis; he died in 2019. SSelf-stated — LC-BURRIDGELegalise Cannabis Victoria, "Danielle Burridge - Candidate for Eastern Victoria"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.
Reforming driving laws so patients are not punished for using medicine they have been lawfully prescribed.
Access to medicinal cannabis for people who are dying and the families caring for them that is "compassionate, affordable and shaped around the patient", based on their experience of caring for their father.
Wants to give Eastern Victoria "a voice that combines lived experience with evidence".
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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Crime and community safety
Is "particularly passionate" about reforming driving laws so lawfully prescribed patients are not punished; no detail on the mechanism is given on the candidate profile.
Party position, not a candidate statement: Legalise Cannabis Victoria says thousands of people are "needlessly funnelled into the criminal justice system" each year because cannabis consumption is prohibited, and calls for law reform.
Party position: the party says it passed a Legislative Council motion calling for a legal defence for medicinal cannabis prescription holders charged with the presence of drugs when taking it as prescribed and not impaired.
Housing affordability and supply
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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
Describes watching medicinal cannabis ease their father's pain and restore his appetite when fentanyl and morphine could not, and finding it hard to locate a prescribing doctor at the time, at a prohibitive cost.
Says the rules on how their father could use the prescription made no allowance for his tolerance or for breakthrough pain, and calls for access that is compassionate, affordable and shaped around the patient.
No specific funding, wait-time or hospital policy found; the stated position is limited to medicinal cannabis access.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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.
Candidate's stated focus on medicinal cannabis patients and driving laws matches the party's "Let Patients Drive" campaign, one of three themes on the party homepage alongside legalising cannabis and growing the hemp industry. SSelf-stated — LC-BURRIDGE, LC-HOMELegalise Cannabis Victoria, "Danielle Burridge - Candidate for Eastern Victoria"View sourceLegalise Cannabis Victoria, "Legalise Cannabis Victoria (homepage)"View source
Party context, not attributable to this candidate: on 14 April 2026 the party criticised a government driving trial as delayed to 2027 and said the government had agreed to remove automatic licence loss for unimpaired medicinal cannabis patients. On 24 July 2025 it campaigned on workplace drug testing of patients, citing a motion for debate on 30 July 2025. SSelf-stated — LC-DRIVING, LC-PATIENTSLegalise Cannabis Victoria, "Victorian Government Swinburne University Driving Trial Update" (14 Apr 2026)View sourceLegalise Cannabis Victoria, "Protect Patient Rights" (24 July 2025)View source
No divergence from the party platform found in the candidate's material. SSelf-stated — LC-BURRIDGELegalise Cannabis Victoria, "Danielle Burridge - Candidate for Eastern Victoria"View source
Track record & prior candidacies
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Per the VEC's funding guidance (accessed 2026-10-11), a candidate is eligible for public funding if they receive at least 4% of first-preference votes or are elected. The amount is the lower of the audited statement of expenditure and a maximum entitlement based on first-preference votes, at CPI-indexed rates that differ between Assembly and Council candidates.
The VEC notes its funding pages are under review following the Electoral Further Amendment Act 2026, which addresses donation disclosure, funding, auditing and reporting, so the rules may change.