Legislative Assembly · District of Rowville
Dave Massey
Last verified 30 Sept 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 is 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. No One Nation or independent candidate has been found, and Wikipedia's 2026 table leaves Hiemstra's party blank.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Safer, more frequent transport and reliable buses, better health care access, better-funded mental health services and environmental protection.
"Rowville has been neglected for far too long, with unreliable bus services, poorly funded mental health services and damage to our natural environment."
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
The Greens' platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would make public transport permanently free and freeze rents for two years; nothing is attributed to Massey personally.
Crime and community safety
The Greens' platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14; nothing is attributed to Massey personally.
Housing affordability and supply
The Greens' platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would build 88,000 public homes with $4 billion initial investment; nothing is attributed to Massey personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
The Greens' platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would raise land tax to 5.3% for investors with $5 million or more of residential property; nothing is attributed to Massey personally.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Wants safer, more frequent transport and reliable bus services.
The Greens' platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would make trains, trams and buses permanently free.
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
The Greens' platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would reinstate $2.4 billion in delayed public-school funding; nothing is attributed to Massey personally.
Health and healthcare access
Wants better health care access and better-funded mental health services.
The Greens' platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would fund 500 more psychologists and psychiatrists.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Names environmental protection as a priority and criticises damage to the local natural environment.
The Greens' platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would reach 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and ban new coal and gas projects.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
The Greens' platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would back the Statewide Treaty Bill without amendment; nothing is attributed to Massey 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.
His stated priorities sit within the Victorian Greens' statewide platform. SSelf-stated — GREENS-DM, ET-GREENS-POLICYVictorian Greens, "Dave Massey"View sourceAustralian Election Tracker, "Greens policy profile — 2026 Victorian election"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Wikipedia's 2026 candidates table lists him as the Greens' Rowville candidate. RReported — WIKI-2026CANDSWikipedia, "Candidates of the 2026 Victorian state election"View source
Track record & prior candidacies
His profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — GREENS-DMVictorian Greens, "Dave Massey"View source
He is not among the candidates in the 2022 Rowville results; the Greens' candidate was Angelica Di Camillo (7.0%). VVerified — WIKI-ROW-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Rowville"View source
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.
Massey has not previously contested an election. The Greens' 2022 Rowville candidate polled 7.0%, above the 4% mark.