Legislative Assembly · District of Mill Park
Elizabeth Nealy
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Mill Park›
Mill Park is a very safe Labor seat in Melbourne's north, held by Labor since its 2002 creation, that is an open contest in 2026. Sitting MP Lily D'Ambrosio, Australia's longest-serving energy minister and MP for the seat since 2002, announced on 30 July 2026 that she will not recontest and is stepping down from Cabinet, following a Labor leadership change. The 2026 field is Labor's Elizabeth Nealy, the Liberals' Joel Drysdale, the Greens' Binoy Zacharias and the Victorian Socialists' Jesse Lambourn. At the 2022 election D'Ambrosio won 49.9% of first preferences and 61.6% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Paige Yap.
Background
A Banyule City councillor named Elizabeth Nealy (Beale Ward, mayor in 2021-2022 and 2024-2025) resigned effective 3 July 2026. VVerified — BANYULE-NEALYBanyule City Council, "Resignation of Councillor Elizabeth Nealy"View source
No source reviewed links that councillor to the Mill Park candidacy, so none of it is attributed to the candidate.
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.
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
Labor's 2026 platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes a vehicle registration rebate of up to $186, half-price public transport fares from June to December 2026 and free midday electricity from October 2026; nothing is attributed to Nealy personally.
Crime and community safety
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes the 2025 bail law changes; nothing is attributed to Nealy personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, is built around the Big Housing Build; nothing is attributed to Nealy personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, projects operating surpluses of $700 million in 2025-26 and $1 billion in 2026-27; nothing is attributed to Nealy personally.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $1.04 billion for roads; nothing is attributed to Nealy 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
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $5.5 billion of new education investment in 2026-27 and the Free TAFE guarantee; nothing is attributed to Nealy personally.
Health and healthcare access
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $3.9 billion of new health investment in 2026-27; nothing is attributed to Nealy personally.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, targets 65% renewables by 2030 and 95% by 2035; nothing is attributed to Nealy personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, cites implementation of the Statewide Treaty Act 2025; nothing is attributed to Nealy 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.
Track record & prior candidacies
She is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Mill Park results; Labor's candidate at both was the retiring Lily D'Ambrosio (62.71% in 2018, 49.9% in 2022). VVerified — WIKI-MP-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Mill Park"View source
Whether she has contested other elections was not established.
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.
Nealy's own first-preference history could not be established. Labor's 2022 Mill Park candidate polled 49.9% and won the seat.