Legislative Assembly · District of Mordialloc
Paul O'Halloran
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Mordialloc›
Mordialloc is a Labor-held bayside seat in Melbourne's south-east, held by Tim Richardson since 2014. In 2022 he won 44.0% of first preferences and 58.2% to 41.8% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Phillip Pease. Richardson is recontesting, now as Minister for Local Government, Consumer Affairs and Renters after the 4 August 2026 ministry. The 2026 field is five candidates: Richardson, the Liberals' Paul O'Halloran, the Greens' Alex Breskin, One Nation's Nadia Ticehurst and the Victorian Socialists' Mahee Hossain. The Tally Room says the seat used to be more marginal and that a Liberal or One Nation candidate could potentially win.
Background
Served more than 40 years with Victoria Police, reaching the rank of commander. RReported — 3AW-OHALLORAN3AW, "'Complete deterioration': Ex-cop slams state of Victoria as he launches political bid" (14 July 2026)View source
Spent decades with Victoria Police and was made Commander at Crime Command. SSelf-stated — LIBV-PAUL-OHALLORANLiberal Victoria, "Paul O'Halloran — Liberal candidate profile" (9 July 2026)View source
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Reforming the justice system, a safe environment for future generations and a thriving economy.
Says: "I want my children and grandchildren to live in a safe environment with an economy that is thriving."
Reducing crime and lowering costs for local families.
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 costs lowered for local families.
Crime and community safety
Describes Victoria's justice system as "broken" and wants to reform it so his children and grandchildren "live in a safe environment".
The Coalition's bail and sentencing policy, per the ABC, would automatically deny bail to reoffenders under a one-strike rule.
Wants crime reduced, drawing on decades in Victoria Police tackling drug use and keeping families safe.
Housing affordability and supply
The Coalition would lift the first-home buyer threshold to remove stamp duty on homes up to $1 million, per a housing-policy comparison; nothing is attributed to O'Halloran personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Wants "an economy that is thriving".
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
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
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 justice-reform theme fits the Coalition's law-and-order platform; no other personal policy statements were found.
Their profile presents them as part of Jess Wilson's Liberal team, and the policies it names are the party's own plan rather than independent positions of theirs. SSelf-stated — LIBV-PAUL-OHALLORANLiberal Victoria, "Paul O'Halloran — Liberal candidate profile" (9 July 2026)View source
Track record & prior candidacies
He is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Mordialloc results; the Liberals' candidates were Geoff Gledhill (31.45%) and Phillip Pease (31.4%). VVerified — WIKI-MOR-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Mordialloc"View source
No earlier election candidacy was found.
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.
O'Halloran has not previously contested an election. The Liberals' 2022 Mordialloc candidate polled 31.4%.