Legislative Assembly · District of Gippsland South
Bianca Wilke
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Gippsland South›
Gippsland South is a rural seat in south-eastern Victoria, covering Sale, Leongatha, Foster, Yarram, Mirboo North, Rosedale, Port Albert and Venus Bay, and among the safest National-held seats in the state. Danny O'Brien won it at the March 2015 by-election after Peter Ryan's resignation, and has led the Victorian Nationals since 25 November 2024. In 2022 he won 53.3% of first preferences and 65.2% two-party-preferred against Labor's Denise Ryan. He is treated as the standard-bearer for 2026, and the main contest is One Nation's regional surge: a Redbridge poll cited by the ABC put One Nation on 32% in the Eastern Victoria upper house region, and O'Brien has called it 'a real threat'. The 2026 field found is O'Brien, the Greens' Zave Evans, One Nation's Bianca Wilke and the Victorian Socialists' Lachie McGennisken. No Labor candidate has been found for this seat, and Wikipedia's 2026 table lists Evans as Labor and Wilke as Greens, which the parties' own pages contradict.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Investment in rural and regional communities, stronger local services and infrastructure, economic growth in neglected regions, safer towns and accountability to taxpayers.
"Regional Victoria deserves its fair share, stronger local investment, safer towns, and a government that puts taxpayers first."
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
Wants economic growth in neglected regional areas.
The One Nation Victoria platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would remove insurance duty on premiums and end renewable subsidies.
Crime and community safety
Wants safer towns.
Housing affordability and supply
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would ban foreign ownership of residential property; nothing is attributed to Wilke personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Wants a government that puts taxpayers first and is accountable to them.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Wants stronger local services and infrastructure.
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
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would establish elected school boards with a parent majority; nothing is attributed to Wilke personally.
Health and healthcare access
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, opposes Net Zero by 2050; nothing is attributed to Wilke personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would oppose and repeal Victoria's Statewide Treaty framework; nothing is attributed to Wilke personally.
Regional and rural Victoria
Wants increased investment in rural and regional communities and resources distributed fairly away from metropolitan concentration.
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.
Her themes sit within One Nation's statewide platform. SSelf-stated — ON-BW, ET-ON-POLICYOne Nation Victoria, "Bianca Wilke for Gippsland South"View sourceAustralian Election Tracker, "One Nation policy profile — 2026 Victorian election"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
Her profile mentions no prior campaign. SSelf-stated — ON-BWOne Nation Victoria, "Bianca Wilke for Gippsland South"View source
She is not among the candidates in the 2022 Gippsland South results. VVerified — WIKI-GS-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Gippsland South"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.
Wilke has not previously contested an election, and One Nation did not field a Gippsland South candidate in 2022.