Legislative Assembly · District of Rowville
Bradley Watt
Last verified 11 Oct 2026
Seat context — Rowville›
Rowville is a Liberal-held seat in Melbourne's outer east, covering Rowville, Rowville East, Knoxfield, Lysterfield, Lysterfield South, Scoresby and Wantirna South. Kim Wells, first elected to parliament in 1992 and member for this seat since 2014, won it in 2022 with 40.6% of first preferences and 53.7% two-party-preferred against Labor's Mannie Kaur Verma, with independent Nicole Seymour polling 12.1%. Wells announced on 14 September 2025 that he will not recontest, so 2026 is an open contest. The 2026 field found was four candidates: the Liberals' Max Williams, Labor's Muhammad Shahbaz (who also ran here in 2018), the Greens' Dave Massey and the Victorian Socialists' Lars Hiemstra. One Nation has since listed Bradley Watt as its candidate; no independent candidate has been found, and Wikipedia's 2026 table leaves Hiemstra's party blank.
Background
Says they have held senior business management and product development roles with international sporting brands, and that they travelled interstate and overseas to bring sports equipment into Australia. No employer is named. SSelf-stated — ON-WATTOne Nation Victoria, "Bradley Watt for Rowville"View source
The ABC election guide and The Eastern Melburnian describe the same background in similar terms (senior business management and product development roles in the sports equipment industry); both read as drawn from the party's own profile rather than independent checking of employment. RReported — ABC-ROW, EM-2026ABC News, "Rowville - VIC Electorate, Candidates, Results"View sourceThe Eastern Melburnian, "Victorian Election 2026: Eastern Melbourne Candidates" (31 July 2026)View source
Describes themselves as a former state and national badminton representative; the ABC election guide repeats this. SSelf-stated — ON-WATTOne Nation Victoria, "Bradley Watt for Rowville"View source
The ABC guide reports the same badminton representation. RReported — ABC-ROWABC News, "Rowville - VIC Electorate, Candidates, Results"View source
Lives in Rowville. SSelf-stated — ON-WATTOne Nation Victoria, "Bradley Watt for Rowville"View source
Australian-born and one of five siblings, raised in a single-income family in Melbourne's south-east; describes themselves as a family man, a keen golfer and focused on health and fitness. SSelf-stated — ON-WATTOne Nation Victoria, "Bradley Watt for Rowville"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.
Wants investment prioritised for law and order, including police stations open 24 hours, and a serious response to home invasions, burglaries and car thefts.
Describes their aim as being a "commonsense voice for the whole electorate" and says "Integrity is absolute. No shortcuts, no pay-off, just accountability to the people."
The Eastern Melburnian reports Watt wants more investment directed to hospitals and schools and for all police stations to be open 24 hours.
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
Links home invasions, burglaries and car thefts to rising insurance premiums, framing crime as a cost-of-living driver; no other personal cost-of-living policy found.
Party platform (not a Watt-specific statement): abolish the 10 per cent stamp duty on home, contents and car insurance, lift the payroll tax threshold, and wind back land tax increases on rental properties and small property owners.
Crime and community safety
Wants investment prioritised for law and order, police stations open 24 hours, and a serious response to home invasions, burglaries and car thefts.
Reported as wanting all police stations open 24 hours.
Party platform (not a Watt-specific statement): a 24/7 bail court, a presumption against bail for repeat offenders, mandatory minimum sentences for assaulting police and emergency workers, new Magistrates' Courts including one at Pakenham, and restoring the age of criminal responsibility to 10. The booklet commits to rebuilding civilian support staffing so public counter services can be restored where cut, rather than a flat promise that every station is open 24 hours.
Housing affordability and supply
No personal housing statement found. Party platform: review fees and charges on new homes, release under-used government land, put legal clocks on planning approvals, free up granny flats, and raise the foreign purchaser duty.
State government debt and fiscal management
Says the two-party system has eroded Australia's sovereign wealth and values; no specific fiscal policy attributed to them.
Party platform: cancel the Suburban Rail Loop, abolish Gellung Warl, cut top-level public service executives, and introduce agency sunset reviews, framed as paying for lower taxes.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
No personal infrastructure statement found. Party platform: cancel the Suburban Rail Loop and redirect funds, electrify the Melton line, complete the Airport Rail Link, build three new Magistrates' Courts, and create a public Pothole Portal.
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
Reported as wanting more investment directed to schools; no detail on what or how much.
Party platform: a knowledge-rich replacement for the Victorian Curriculum, systematic phonics, more trade schools, and school vouchers so funding follows the student.
Health and healthcare access
Reported as wanting more investment directed to hospitals; no detail on what or how much.
Party platform: a real-time statewide waiting list view, a regional healthcare guarantee including 24/7 emergency departments, nurse-led discharge, and abolishing standalone DEI and ESG programs in health services.
Urban planning and housing density
No personal planning statement found. Party platform: require genuine community consultation before high-rise development is imposed on established suburbs, and ban data centres and large batteries on prime farmland.
Climate and energy transition
No personal energy statement found. Party platform: scrap all net-zero targets and subsidies, cancel VNI West and other large transmission projects, repeal the state nuclear ban, and reverse the ban on gas connections in new homes.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Supports nation-building in which all Australians, including First Nations people, are treated equally under one flag.
Party platform: scrap the Statewide Treaty entirely, abolish Gellung Warl and end its legislated funding (about $70 million a year, per the booklet).
Regional and rural Victoria
Rowville is a metropolitan seat and no personal regional statement was found. Party platform covers water trading limits, timber and forestry, road funding and regional rail.
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
Contested the Division of Aston at the 2013 federal election for the Palmer United Party, polling 3,206 votes (3.76%) and finishing fourth of seven; Liberal Alan Tudge won. VVerified — WIKI-AST13Wikipedia, "Electoral results for the Division of Aston (2013 election)"View source
The ABC election guide reports that Watt stood for Aston at the 2013 election for the Palmer United Party. The One Nation profile page does not mention it. RReported — ABC-ROWABC News, "Rowville - VIC Electorate, Candidates, Results"View source
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Per the VEC's published funding guidance for candidates (accessed 2026-10-11), a candidate is eligible for public funding if they receive at least 4% of first-preference votes in their contest, or are elected.
The maximum entitlement is calculated from first-preference votes, and the VEC pays the lesser of that maximum and the amount spent per the candidate's audited statement of expenditure, indexed annually to CPI. The VEC notes its page is under review following the Electoral Further Amendment Act 2026, so details may change.
One Nation did not contest Rowville in 2022, so there is no prior One Nation result here to indicate whether the 4% threshold would be met.