Legislative Assembly · District of Eureka
Andy Raven
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Eureka›
Eureka is a Legislative Assembly seat covering east/south-east Ballarat suburbs (Eureka, Brown Hill, Ballarat East, Golden Point, Canadian, Mount Pleasant, Mount Clear, Mount Helen and Buninyong) plus large parts of the Golden Plains and Moorabool shires. It was created by the 2021 redistribution and first contested at the 2022 election, largely replacing the abolished district of Buninyong. Labor's Michaela Settle, the sitting Member for Buninyong, recontested and won the new seat of Eureka in 2022, defeating the Liberal candidate 57.2%-42.8% (a 14.3-point margin). The 2026 field is seven candidates: Labor's Michaela Settle, the Liberals' Emma Muir, the Greens' Sam McColl, One Nation's Paul Ballinger, Family First's Ian Harkness, the Animal Justice Party's Wendy Morrison and the Victorian Socialists' Andy Raven. At the 2022 election Settle won 41.0% of first preferences.
Background
Cites organising with Free Palestine Ballarat and taking part in Say No to Racism rallies. SSelf-stated — VS-ARVictorian Socialists, "Andy Raven"View source
A roundup describes their activism as protesting racism and war in Ballarat. RReported — WVB-EUREKAWest Vic Brolga, "Victorian Election 2026: Western Victorian Candidates"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.
Secure housing for working-class people, living wages across all employment, and action on rental-market exploitation.
Wealth redistribution, less inequality, and bringing power back to working-class communities.
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
Says people deserve a living wage and should not need multiple jobs to afford rent, and notes shops closing because of landlord rent increases.
The party's fiscal policy would fund services with a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires, a 20% bank profits tax and a 20% super-profits tax on retailers earning over $100 million.
Crime and community safety
A summary of the party's policing policy says it would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16; nothing is attributed to Raven personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Says "people deserve secure housing and a living wage" and criticises rental-market exploitation by landlords.
The party's housing policy would cut all residential rents 25% then freeze them for five years, and build at least 15,000 public housing units a year for ten years.
State government debt and fiscal management
Wants wealth redistribution and less economic inequality.
The party's fiscal policy centres on new revenue including a 10% annual billionaire wealth tax.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would make public transport free; nothing is attributed to Raven personally.
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
A summary of the party's education policy says it would provide universal preschool and childcare and end NAPLAN testing; nothing is attributed to Raven personally.
Health and healthcare access
A summary of the party's health policy says it would fully fund public healthcare and expand free community clinics; nothing is attributed to Raven personally.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
A summary of the party's energy policies says it would move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy; nothing is attributed to Raven personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
A summary of the party's First Nations policy says it wants a treaty with material change beyond symbolic recognition; nothing is attributed to Raven personally.
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.
Raven runs on the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform, and their priorities match it. SSelf-stated — VS-AR, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Andy Raven"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
Their profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — VS-ARVictorian Socialists, "Andy Raven"View source
They are not among the candidates in the 2022 Eureka results, where no Victorian Socialists candidate is listed. VVerified — WIKI-EUREKA-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Eureka"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.
Raven has not previously contested an election, so they have no funding entitlement from an earlier contest.