Rachel Westaway

In her inaugural speech she said many Prahran locals raised cost pressures during the by-election, "many living from pay cheque to pay cheque, unable to break into the housing market and struggling to meet their commitments."

In an August 2026 local-paper column she blamed "12 years of Labor Government" for Victorians facing record debt and declining services, tying household pressure to state fiscal mismanagement and infrastructure cost blowouts.

Inaugural speech: "The crime rate in Prahran is three times the state average"; 52% of residents are women who "feel unsafe and vulnerable"; called for more police resourcing and CCTV funding on Chapel Street.

December 2025 adjournment debate: sought a government update on the "cumulative impact" of taxation, the congestion levy and regulatory burden compounding rising retail crime for Chapel Street traders and hospitality venues.

On the Retail Crime Amendment Bill, cited over 99,000 recorded retail crime offences in the year to June 2025 (up 20%, a record), and criticised the bill's penalties as "weak" and lacking workplace protection orders for staff.

August 2026 constituency question relayed resident reports of cars broken into regularly, homes targeted and shops robbed, pressing the government on a visible policing response.

Inaugural speech: despite Prahran's already high density, she recognises "the need for further development to meet current and future housing needs, including affordable housing."

August 2026: detailed the Horace Petty public housing estate (South Yarra) — seven towers across the electorate flagged for retirement/redevelopment — and after meeting residents (many 55+), demanded transparency on reasons, right of return, and interim housing.

Budget/Economic Direction speech: Victoria ranked "the worst place in Australia to run a business" by the Business Council of Australia; cited $187.8 billion projected net debt by 2028 and infrastructure cost blowouts "equivalent to building dozens of new hospitals."

August 2026 column blamed "12 years of Labor Government" for record debt, alleged up to "$15 billion lost to corruption" in the Big Build program, and called for a government that "spends taxpayers' money responsibly."

August 2026 column described potholes on major Prahran roads (Commercial Rd, Toorak Rd and others) costing residents "hundreds or even thousands of dollars" in vehicle damage and creating risk for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

August 2026 constituency question on Punt Road/Union Street, where hundreds of Wesley College Junior School children cross daily: cited short signal timing, an obstructed angled crossing, missing school-crossing signage, and no variable 40km/h zone (unlike Dandenong Road).

December 2025: briefly referenced the Metro Tunnel's "big switch" (scheduled 1 February 2026) amid comments on infrastructure keeping pace with Prahran's population growth.

On the Safe Patient Care (Nurse to Patient and Midwife to Patient Ratios) Amendment Bill 2026, the Liberals/Nationals did not oppose it; she welcomed 26 hospital reclassifications (17 regional/rural) but questioned where the extra nursing/midwifery staff would come from.

Cited 91% of ED directors reporting weekly violent incidents and only 68% of ambulance handovers meeting the 40-minute target.

Said the Department of Health doesn't fund essential triage training (postgraduate courses up to $14,000), warning 2,000+ new nursing/midwifery graduates would miss public-sector jobs in 2026.

Inaugural speech: "We are not NIMBYs; however, we do not believe it is fair, reasonable or democratic to deny local residents a say" over changes to their area's character — she pledged to resist planning proposals that strip away that voice.

Opposed the government's Planning Reform Bill (Dec 2025), which she said would let activity-centre proposals for Windsor, Hawksburn, Prahran, Toorak and South Yarra stations bypass parliamentary oversight and remove community notification rights, without mandating matching infrastructure.