Legislative Assembly · District of Shepparton
Karen Hocking
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Shepparton›
Shepparton is a regional Goulburn Valley seat covering Shepparton, Mooroopna, Nathalia and Numurkah. The Nationals' Kim O'Keeffe, a former Greater Shepparton mayor, won it in 2022 from long-time independent Suzanna Sheed, taking 32.1% of first preferences to Sheed's 29.4% and winning 56.8% to 43.2% in the two-candidate count. O'Keeffe announced on 21 July 2026 that she will not recontest, so 2026 is an open contest. The Nationals preselected Greater Shepparton mayor Shane Sali on 5 September 2026, beating prosecutor Alexander Lew. The Tally Room lists the controversial Greater Shepparton Secondary College 'super school' and the 2022 floods among local issues. The 2026 field found is five candidates: Sali, Labor's Cayla Fin, the Greens' Grace Verney, One Nation's Phillip Bryant and the Victorian Socialists' Karen Hocking. No Liberal or independent candidate has been found, and Wikipedia's 2026 table shifts the party labels for Verney, Bryant and Hocking.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Free public healthcare and aged care, housing affordability, free buses for Shepparton, renewable energy, staffed community hubs, and protecting workers and marginalised communities against the far right.
"Issues such as housing, healthcare, education, public transport, and climate change must be addressed with a real vision for change."
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 party's fiscal policy would fund services with a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires and a 20% bank profits tax; nothing on cost of living is attributed to Hocking personally.
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 Hocking personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Wants the affordability crisis for renters and mortgage holders addressed.
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
Wants free, viable bus services for Shepparton.
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would make public transport 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
Names education among issues that need a real vision for change.
A summary of the party's education policy says it would provide universal preschool and childcare and end NAPLAN testing.
Health and healthcare access
Wants free, accessible public healthcare and quality aged care and disability services, drawing on a nursing career.
A summary of the party's health policy says it would fully fund public healthcare and expand free community clinics.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Wants a transition to renewable energy.
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 Hocking personally.
Regional and rural Victoria
Wants staffed community hubs and extended library hours in Shepparton.
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-KH, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Karen Hocking"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
Their profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — VS-KHVictorian Socialists, "Karen Hocking"View source
They are not among the candidates in the 2022 Shepparton results, in which the Victorian Socialists did not field a candidate. VVerified — WIKI-SHEP-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Shepparton"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.
Hocking has not previously contested an election, and the Victorian Socialists did not field a Shepparton candidate in 2022.