Legislative Assembly · District of Mill Park
Eve Levens
Last verified 30 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
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Compassionate, stigma-free mental health support, housing affordability and security, enforcing animal welfare laws, wildlife protection, free desexing and microchipping, and ending the killing of impounded animals.
Wants a community where "animals, people and the environment are treated with compassion and respect".
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
Names housing affordability and security as priorities.
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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Health and healthcare access
Wants compassionate, stigma-free mental health support, drawing on her work as a hospital clerk.
Urban planning and housing density
Is passionate about the balance between community and nature in Mill Park.
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.
Their priorities are animal protection themes consistent with the Animal Justice Party's platform; no party platform document was retrieved, so only their own stated priorities are recorded. SSelf-stated — AJP-ELAnimal Justice Party Victoria, "Eve Levens for Mill Park"View source
Wikipedia's 2026 candidates table lists them as the Animal Justice Party's candidate for this seat. RReported — WIKI-2026CANDSWikipedia, "Candidates of the 2026 Victorian state election"View source
Track record & prior candidacies
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.
Eve Levens has not previously contested a state election on the profile's account, and the Animal Justice Party's earlier results in this seat were not retrieved.