Legislative Assembly · District of St Albans
Bao Huynh
Last verified 24 Sept 2026
Seat context — St Albans›
St Albans is a safe Labor seat represented by Natalie Suleyman since 2014, who is recontesting. She has held a mix of ministerial portfolios this term: Minister for Veterans, Minister for Youth, and Minister for Small Business from December 2022; she lost the Youth portfolio in an April 2026 reshuffle (gaining Tourism), then was reassigned again in an early-August 2026 reshuffle — after Ben Carroll succeeded Jacinta Allan as Premier — to her current portfolio: Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Minister for Small and Family Business, and Minister for Veterans. The Greens' Bao Huynh, New Democrats' Zaffer Mannan, Victorian Socialists' Leanna Nguyen, and the West Party's Luận Walker are also confirmed. The Tally Room's 2026 candidate list (checked 2026-09-24) also shows Rob Dunstan (Liberal) and John Cowell (One Nation).
Background
Describes himself as "a social policy academic" in his Greens candidate bio; no institution, specialisation or seniority is given. SSelf-stated — GREENS-HUYNHAustralian Greens Victoria, "Bao Huynh"View source
A Thuc Bao Huynh is credited as a Research Assistant at Monash University's Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice on a December 2023 Conversation article about young Australians' worries, co-authored with the Centre's director, Professor Lucas Walsh. VVerified — CONV-YOUTHHOUSINGThe Conversation, "What are young Australians most worried about? Finding affordable housing, they told us" (4 Dec 2023)View source
His Conversation author profile lists him as a Research Fellow at that Centre since 2023, while Monash's own Lens profile describes a PhD candidate completing a PhD on higher education policy; his current title is not settled across pages. SSelf-stated — CONV-PROFILE, MONASH-LENSThe Conversation, "Thuc Bao Huynh — author profile"View sourceMonash University, "Thuc Bao Huynh, PhD candidate, Faculty of Education (Monash Lens)"View source
Identity note: no source found states outright that this Monash researcher and the Greens' 2025 Gorton candidate, both named Thuc Bao Huynh, are the St Albans candidate 'Bao Huynh'.
The match rests on the identical distinctive name, the Greens' use of 'Bao' as his short name, the same party, and his 'social policy academic' self-description fitting an education and youth-policy researcher.
Describes himself as "a local Westie" and says St Albans "has been neglected for far too long." SSelf-stated — GREENS-HUYNHAustralian Greens Victoria, "Bao Huynh"View source
In April 2025, announcing him as the Greens' federal candidate for Gorton, the Greens quoted him saying "I'm living in the west and was born and raised here," and described him as "born and raised in Melbourne's west." SSelf-stated — GREENS-GORTON-IG, AGN-GORTON-IGVictorian Greens, "Announcing Thuc Bao Huynh for GORTON! (Instagram)" (18 Apr 2025)View sourceAustralian Greens News, "Candidate announcement: Thuc Bao Huynh for Gorton (Instagram)" (16 Apr 2025)View source
Neither his 2026 bio nor the 2025 announcements name a suburb, school, years of residence or community group. SSelf-stated — GREENS-HUYNH, GREENS-GORTON-IG, AGN-GORTON-IGAustralian Greens Victoria, "Bao Huynh"View sourceVictorian Greens, "Announcing Thuc Bao Huynh for GORTON! (Instagram)" (18 Apr 2025)View sourceAustralian Greens News, "Candidate announcement: Thuc Bao Huynh for Gorton (Instagram)" (16 Apr 2025)View source
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Describes himself as "a social policy academic and local Westie with a strong commitment to improving our education system, roads and transportation, and supporting our community to thrive."
Says he is running "to advocate for people-powered solutions to cost of living, public transportation and education issues."
Says he is "committed to being a transparent, approachable and connected representative," something he says St Albans has "not benefited from."
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
His 2026 bio names "people-powered solutions to cost of living, public transportation and education issues" as his reason for running, without a specific mechanism.
In his 2025 Gorton announcement he is quoted: "I know how much we're struggling with the cost of housing and everyday expenses... We want to make big corporations pay their fair share of tax and fund things we all need."
Party platform (not candidate-specific): free public dental care, a $3,000 "Greens Power voucher" for solar, batteries and efficient appliances, a public energy retailer within the State Electricity Commission, and permanently free public transport.
Crime and community safety
No personal statement on crime or policing found in his 2026 bio.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): prevention over punishment: funding for youth programs and public housing, health-led responses to mental health emergencies, raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14, and repealing Labor's 2025 bail changes and life sentences for kids.
Housing affordability and supply
His 2026 bio has no personal housing statement; the closest is his 2025 Gorton remark about struggling with "the cost of housing and everyday expenses."
Party platform (not candidate-specific): 88,000 new public homes with an initial $4 billion, cutting stamp duty to zero on homes under $1.1 million, and a new land-tax rate on investors holding over $5 million in residential property.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): a two-year rent freeze, then rent rises capped at wage growth (or inflation if lower), a landlord licensing regulator ($50 million) and a doubled, enforced vacancy tax.
State government debt and fiscal management
No personal statement found; the Greens' costings page does not address state debt or borrowing directly.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): funding its plan through new revenue: a 0.1% quarterly levy on big-bank liabilities (over $3 billion a year), higher gambling taxes (over $2 billion a year), doubled coal and gas royalties, and a 75% tax on rezoning windfalls.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Names "roads and transportation" as a personal priority and says he wants to "advocate for better roads, education and public services"; no specific road, route or project is named.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): trams and trains at least every 10 minutes from 7am to 10pm where infrastructure allows, $270 million for a bus grid, permanently free public transport, and bringing road maintenance back into public hands.
The same platform would give Infrastructure Victoria power to set a 30-year transport plan and require the government to justify major projects that deviate from it.
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
Education is his most repeated personal priority: "improving our education system" and "better roads, education and public services," with no mechanism given.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): funding all government schools to the full Gonski amount, genuinely free public schools, an independent school building authority, and capping private-school funding at 100% of Gonski need.
Health and healthcare access
No personal statement found in his 2026 bio.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): a $3 billion public dental system funded by gambling taxes, saving VicHealth with prevention at 5% of the health budget, and community health at 3% of health spending.
Urban planning and housing density
No personal statement found in his 2026 bio.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): rewriting planning rules to increase density around transport hubs, protect green wedges and restore council say, a 40% urban tree-canopy target, and at least 30% public and affordable housing in developments over 15 dwellings.
Climate and energy transition
No personal statement found in his 2026 bio.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): banning gas drilling in Victoria's oceans, closing Yallourn in 2028 and switching off Loy Yang A units early, and an extra $2 billion for the State Electricity Commission to build publicly owned renewables.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
No personal statement found in his 2026 bio.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): defending Statewide Treaty against repeal, supporting further local and statewide treaties, and implementing the Yoorrook Justice Commission's recommendations.
Regional and rural Victoria
No personal statement found; St Albans is a metropolitan seat.
Party platform (not candidate-specific): regional trains and coaches run more often ($245 million), public housing in regional Victoria, and community benefit and ownership models for renewables and transmission lines.
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.
Says St Albans "has been neglected for far too long" and needs representatives "connected to the everyday experience" and "willing to advocate for better roads, education and public services." SSelf-stated — GREENS-HUYNHAustralian Greens Victoria, "Bao Huynh"View source
Names no specific local site, project, school or intersection. SSelf-stated — GREENS-HUYNHAustralian Greens Victoria, "Bao Huynh"View source
Runs closely aligned with the Victorian Greens' 2026 platform: his three named priorities (cost of living, public transport, education) map onto its free public transport, cost-cutting and school-funding planks. SSelf-stated — GREENS-HUYNH, GP26-PLATFORMAustralian Greens Victoria, "Bao Huynh"View sourceVictorian Greens, "Demand better — The Greens plan (2026 election platform)"View source
He adds no personal mechanism, figure or point of divergence beyond the platform; his 2025 Gorton quote about big corporations paying "their fair share of tax" repeats the Greens' standard line. SSelf-stated — GREENS-HUYNH, GREENS-GORTON-IGAustralian Greens Victoria, "Bao Huynh"View sourceVictorian Greens, "Announcing Thuc Bao Huynh for GORTON! (Instagram)" (18 Apr 2025)View source
Track record & prior candidacies
Contested the federal Division of Gorton at the 2025 election as the Greens candidate Thuc Bao Huynh: 12,244 first-preference votes (10.79%, +1.78 points), third behind Labor's Alice Jordan-Baird (43.05%) and the Liberals' John Fletcher (29.17%). Labor held the seat. VVerified — WP-GORTON, TR-GORTON25Wikipedia, "Electoral results for the Division of Gorton"View sourceThe Tally Room, "Gorton – Australia 2025"View source
The Greens announced him for Gorton on 16 and 18 April 2025, calling him "Bao" and saying he "believes that Labor is taking the West for granted." SSelf-stated — GREENS-GORTON-IG, AGN-GORTON-IGVictorian Greens, "Announcing Thuc Bao Huynh for GORTON! (Instagram)" (18 Apr 2025)View sourceAustralian Greens News, "Candidate announcement: Thuc Bao Huynh for Gorton (Instagram)" (16 Apr 2025)View source
The 2022 Greens candidate for St Albans was Joel Bentley, so 2026 is his first run in this seat. VVerified — WP-STALBANS-DISTRICTWikipedia, "Electoral district of St Albans"View source
No other prior candidacy found: he is not in the 2024 Western Melbourne council results, and no earlier state or federal contest turned up in searches, though those searches were not exhaustive. VVerified — WP-LGE24-WEST, TR-BRIMBANK24Wikipedia, "Results of the 2024 Victorian local elections in Western Melbourne"View sourceThe Tally Room, "Brimbank council election, 2024"View source
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Per the VEC's own funding guidance for registered political parties (accessed 2026-09-24), public funding is paid to the registered party, not to individual candidates. The Greens are eligible if at least one of their endorsed candidates receives at least 4% of first-preference votes or is elected.
The amount is based on the party's audited statement of expenditure, the votes its candidates receive and legislated maximums, at an indexed per-vote rate that the VEC's indexation page (accessed 2026-09-24) lists as $7.70 for lower-house candidates in 2026-27, up from $7.46 the year before. The VEC's funding page notes it is under review following the Electoral Further Amendment Act 2026, so these rules may change before the election.