Legislative Assembly · District of South-West Coast
Richard Hughes
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — South-West Coast›
South-West Coast covers about 6,576 km² of south-western Victoria in the Barwon South West region, centred on Warrnambool and taking in Portland, Port Fairy, Koroit, Heywood and Macarthur. Created in 2002 to replace the former Portland and Warrnambool seats, it is, per Wikipedia, 'ancestrally Liberal territory' and has been held by the Liberal Party continuously since Denis Napthine's narrow 0.7%-margin win amid Labor's 2002 landslide. Roma Britnell (Liberal) has held the seat since winning a 2015 by-election triggered by Napthine's resignation, and retained it comfortably at the 2022 election with 58.0% of the two-candidate-preferred vote to Labor's 42.0% (a 16-point margin, a swing of +4.8 points on 2018). The 2026 field found is five candidates: Britnell, Labor's Andrew Govanstone, the Greens' Silver Rose, the Victorian Socialists' Hera Sheppard and One Nation's Richard Hughes. In 2022 independent Carol Altmann polled 14.4%, but no independent has been found for 2026. Wikipedia's 2026 candidates table lists Sheppard as Animal Justice, which the party's own page contradicts.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Road infrastructure, public safety and crime reduction, small and medium business growth, state financial management and debt reduction, and private sector development.
Describes himself as a "Conservative Warrior who detests Woke & Identity politics".
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 private sector development fostered for economic recovery.
The One Nation Victoria platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would remove insurance duty on premiums and end renewable subsidies.
Crime and community safety
Names public safety and crime reduction as a priority, drawing on 28 years in Victoria Police.
Housing affordability and supply
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would ban foreign ownership of residential property; nothing is attributed to Hughes personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Names state financial management and debt reduction, and small and medium business growth, as priorities.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Names road infrastructure improvements for south-west Victoria as a priority.
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 party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would establish elected school boards with a parent majority; nothing is attributed to Hughes personally.
Health and healthcare access
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, opposes Net Zero by 2050; nothing is attributed to Hughes personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, would oppose and repeal Victoria's Statewide Treaty framework; nothing is attributed to Hughes 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 themes sit within One Nation's statewide platform. SSelf-stated — ON-RH, ET-ON-POLICYOne Nation Victoria, "Richard Hughes for South-West Coast"View sourceAustralian Election Tracker, "One Nation policy profile — 2026 Victorian election"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Wikipedia's 2026 candidates table lists him as One Nation's South-West Coast candidate. RReported — WIKI-2026CANDSWikipedia, "Candidates of the 2026 Victorian state election"View source
Track record & prior candidacies
His profile mentions no prior campaign. SSelf-stated — ON-RHOne Nation Victoria, "Richard Hughes for South-West Coast"View source
He is not among the candidates in the 2022 South-West Coast results. VVerified — WP-SWC-RESULTSWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of South-West Coast"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.
Hughes has not previously contested an election, and One Nation did not field a South-West Coast candidate in 2022.