Legislative Assembly · District of Rowville
Lars Hiemstra
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.
Large-scale public housing, a rental market freeze, action on vacant investment properties, a state-owned bank and strong, affordable public services.
"If elected, I'll fight for a fairer Victoria—one where everyone has a secure home, a decent life, and a government that works for people, not profit."
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 strong, affordable public services and a fairer Victoria.
The party's fiscal policy would fund services with a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires and a 20% bank profits tax.
Crime and community safety
A summary of the party's policing policy says it would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16; nothing is attributed to Hiemstra personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Wants large-scale public housing, a rental market freeze, action on vacant investment properties and a state-owned bank offering fair, fixed-rate home loans.
The party's housing policy would cut all residential rents 25% then freeze them for five years, and build at least 15,000 public housing units a year for ten years.
State government debt and fiscal management
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would make public transport free; nothing is attributed to Hiemstra personally.
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
A summary of the party's education policy says it would provide universal preschool and childcare and end NAPLAN testing; nothing is attributed to Hiemstra personally.
Health and healthcare access
A summary of the party's health policy says it would fully fund public healthcare and expand free community clinics; nothing is attributed to Hiemstra personally.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Has been involved in climate action campaigns.
A summary of the party's energy policies says it would move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
A summary of the party's First Nations policy says it wants a treaty with material change beyond symbolic recognition; nothing is attributed to Hiemstra 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.
Their priorities match the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform. SSelf-stated — VS-LH, VS-POLICIES, VS-HIEMSTRAVictorian Socialists, "Lars Hiemstra"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Candidates"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
Their profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — VS-LHVictorian Socialists, "Lars Hiemstra"View source
They are not among the candidates in the 2022 Rowville results, in which the Victorian Socialists did not field a candidate. 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.
Hiemstra has not previously contested an election, and the Victorian Socialists did not field a Rowville candidate in 2022.