Legislative Assembly · District of South Barwon
Izzy Scherrer
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — South Barwon›
South Barwon is a Labor-held seat on Geelong's southern fringe, taking in fast-growing suburbs such as Armstrong Creek, Charlemont and Mount Duneed. Darren Cheeseman won it in 2022 with 44.2% of first preferences and 59.8% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Andrew Katos. He was pushed out of the Labor caucus in 2024 over allegations of harassment of a staffer and sits as an independent, and he does not appear on The Tally Room's or Wikipedia's 2026 candidate lists, so the seat is effectively open. The 2026 field is seven candidates: Labor's Rebecca Thistleton, the Liberals' Libby Pettit, the Greens' Izzy Scherrer, One Nation's Josh Geard, the Victorian Socialists' Madilyn Gorman, Socialist Alliance's Freya Hedley and independent Ron Nelson. The Tally Room says an outer-suburban seat with no sitting MP could be vulnerable to One Nation.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Affordable housing, reliable public transport, properly funded public education and meaningful climate action.
"Our communities deserve leadership that listens, connects and delivers practical outcomes."
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 Scherrer 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 Scherrer personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Names affordable housing as a priority.
The Greens' platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would build 88,000 public homes with $4 billion initial investment.
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 Scherrer personally.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Names reliable public transport as a priority.
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
Names properly funded public education as a priority and works as a teacher.
The Greens' platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would reinstate $2.4 billion in delayed public-school funding.
Health and healthcare access
Is a women's health advocate.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Names meaningful climate action as a priority.
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 Scherrer 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.
Her priorities sit within the Victorian Greens' statewide platform. SSelf-stated — GREENS-SCHERRER, ET-GREENS-POLICYAustralian Greens Victoria, "Izzy Scherrer"View sourceAustralian Election Tracker, "Greens policy profile — 2026 Victorian election"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
Her profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — GREENS-SCHERRERAustralian Greens Victoria, "Izzy Scherrer"View source
She is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 South Barwon results; the Greens' candidates were Marian Smedley (8.62%) in 2018 and Genevieve Dawson-Scott (12.6%) in 2022. VVerified — WIKI-SB-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of South Barwon"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.
Scherrer has not previously contested an election. The Greens' 2022 South Barwon candidate polled 12.6%, above the 4% mark.