Legislative Assembly · District of Geelong
Bree Vanderpol
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Geelong›
Geelong is a safe Labor seat that has become steadily safer under Christine Couzens, who has held it since 2014 and won 46.4% of first preferences and 64.7% two-party-preferred in 2022, a large increase in Labor's share. The 2026 field is five candidates: Labor's Couzens, the Liberals' Andy Pobjoy, the Greens' Emilie Flynn, Socialist Alliance's Brenden Grull and the Victorian Socialists' Bree Vanderpol. Pobjoy's preselection drew a backlash from parts of Geelong's LGBTQIA+ community, and The Tally Room expects One Nation to poll a large share without fielding a candidate. Housing affordability, population growth and opposition to the proposed floating gas import terminal in Corio Bay are recurring local issues.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Cost of living, housing affordability, opposing corporate profiteering and privatisation, and countering anti-worker and racist political movements.
Revitalising Geelong's CBD and Market Square.
"Geelong is a working-class town, don't let the billionaires have their way. Let's make our voice heard."
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
Names cost-of-living pressure as a priority and opposes corporate profiteering and privatisation.
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 Vanderpol personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Names housing affordability as a priority.
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
The party's fiscal policy centres on new revenue including a 10% annual billionaire wealth tax; nothing on debt levels is attributed to Vanderpol.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would make public transport free; nothing is attributed to Vanderpol 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 Vanderpol 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 Vanderpol personally.
Urban planning and housing density
Wants to revitalise Geelong's central business district and Market Square.
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 Vanderpol 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 Vanderpol 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.
Vanderpol runs on the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform, and her priorities match it. SSelf-stated — VS-BV, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Bree Vanderpol"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
Her profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — VS-BVVictorian Socialists, "Bree Vanderpol"View source
She is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Geelong results; the Victorian Socialists' 2018 candidate was Sarah Hathway (1.12%). VVerified — WIKI-GEELONG-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Geelong"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.
Vanderpol has not previously contested an election, so she has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest. The Victorian Socialists' 2018 Geelong candidate polled 1.12%.