Legislative Assembly · District of Eltham
Paul Byrnes
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Eltham›
The Eltham district covers Melbourne's north-eastern suburbs including Eltham, Eltham North, St Helena, Lower Plenty, Montmorency, Diamond Creek and Wattle Glen, plus parts of Greensborough and Briar Hill, spanning about 73 km² in the North-Eastern Metropolitan Region. Labor's Vicki Ward held the seat at the 2022 election with a two-party-preferred margin of 9.0% over the Liberal candidate. The district was created ahead of the 1992 election and was initially won by the Liberal Party, before Labor regained it at the 2002 election and has held it continuously since. The 2026 field is five candidates: Labor's Vicki Ward, the Liberals' Paul Byrnes, the Greens' Rachel Busbridge, the Victorian Socialists' Maeve Riches and One Nation's Jessie Weatherley. At the 2022 election Ward won 44.5% of first preferences and 59.0% two-party-preferred.
Background
Is a public service legal officer, per a search summary of coverage of the Eltham field. RReported — BYRNES-SEARCHFacebook / Wikipedia / The Tally Room, "Paul Byrnes - Liberal for Eltham"View source
Describes himself as a Commonwealth lawyer working on national security and emergency management matters. SSelf-stated — LIBV-PAUL-BYRNESLiberal Victoria, "Paul Byrnes — Liberal candidate profile" (15 May 2026)View source
Is a former staffer to Liberal politicians Matthew Bach and Mary Wooldridge. RReported — BYRNES-SEARCHFacebook / Wikipedia / The Tally Room, "Paul Byrnes - Liberal for Eltham"View source
Says he has a long involvement with Scouts Victoria. SSelf-stated — LIBV-PAUL-BYRNESLiberal Victoria, "Paul Byrnes — Liberal candidate profile" (15 May 2026)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.
No personal statement of priorities was found; his campaign Facebook page did not load.
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
The Coalition's bail and sentencing policy, per the ABC, would automatically deny bail to reoffenders under a one-strike rule and treat burglary, serious assault and attempted murder as adult offences; nothing is attributed to Byrnes personally.
Housing affordability and supply
The Coalition would lift the first-home buyer threshold to remove stamp duty on homes up to $1 million, per a housing-policy comparison; nothing is attributed to Byrnes personally.
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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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.
Track record & prior candidacies
He is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Eltham results; the Liberals' candidates were Nick McGowan (38.81%) and Jason McClintock (35.6%). VVerified — WIKI-ELTHAM-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Eltham"View source
No earlier election candidacy was found, so this appears to be his first.
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.
Byrnes has not previously contested an election, so he has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest. The Liberals' 2022 Eltham candidate polled 35.6%.