Legislative Assembly · District of Eureka
Ian Harkness
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
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Strengthening families and supporting vulnerable people.
Protecting "the sanctity of life from conception to natural death", opposing abortion and euthanasia.
Combating "harmful gender ideologies" and preventing "radical indoctrination in schools", and preserving religious freedom.
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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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
Wants to prevent "radical indoctrination in schools".
Health and healthcare access
Opposes abortion and euthanasia under the banner of protecting life, and has worked in disability care.
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.
His stated positions follow Family First's faith-and-family platform. SSelf-stated — FF-HARKNESS-2026, FF-VIC2026Family First Party Australia, "Ian Harkness, Candidate for Eureka"View sourceFamily First Party Australia, "Victorian Election (2026 candidates)"View source
Party positions on cost of living, housing and infrastructure could not be retrieved, so those issues are left empty.
Track record & prior candidacies
His profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — FF-HARKNESS-2026Family First Party Australia, "Ian Harkness, Candidate for Eureka"View source
He is not among the candidates in the 2022 Eureka results; Family First's 2022 candidate was Adrian Garcia (2.7%). 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.
Harkness has not previously contested an election, so he has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest. Family First's 2022 Eureka candidate polled 2.7%, below the 4% mark.