Legislative Assembly · District of Sunbury
Josh Bull
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Sunbury›
Sunbury is an outer north-western Melbourne seat centred on Sunbury, with Diggers Rest and Bulla, created for the 2014 election out of Macedon and held by Labor's Josh Bull ever since. Bull won it in 2022 with 43.1% of first preferences and 56.4% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Simmone Cottom, an 8.1-point swing against Labor. He is recontesting and has been Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer since May 2026. Local issues include airport rail delays, Calder Freeway upgrades and a proposed waste-to-energy incinerator. The 2026 field found is six candidates: Bull, Cottom, One Nation's Elita Dabrowski, the Victorian Socialists' Adam Bremner, the West Party's Bruce Lancashire and the New Democrats' Rushi Patel. No Greens candidate has been found, although Wikipedia's 2026 candidates table lists Dabrowski under the Greens, which conflicts with the party's own page.
Background
Worked as a secondary school teacher after graduating from Deakin University in 2007 with a combined science and education degree. SSelf-stated — BULL-SITEJosh Bull MP, "joshbull.com.au/about"View source
Was an electorate officer for Liz Beattie MP and chief of staff to federal MP Rob Mitchell. RReported — WIKI-BULLWikipedia, "Josh Bull"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.
Disability services, youth mental health, suicide prevention, health infrastructure, education, transport and cost-of-living support for families.
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
Names cost-of-living support for Victorian families as a focus area.
Labor's 2026 platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes a vehicle registration rebate of up to $186, half-price public transport fares from June to December 2026 and free midday electricity from October 2026.
Crime and community safety
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes the 2025 bail law changes.
Housing affordability and supply
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, is built around the Big Housing Build.
State government debt and fiscal management
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, projects operating surpluses of $700 million in 2025-26 and $1 billion in 2026-27.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Names transport as a focus area and has been a parliamentary secretary for level crossing removals, transport and infrastructure delivery.
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $1.04 billion for roads.
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 and inclusive schooling as focus areas, drawing on his teaching career and his mother's work as a school integration aide.
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $5.5 billion of new education investment in 2026-27 and the Free TAFE guarantee.
Health and healthcare access
Names health infrastructure, youth mental health, suicide prevention and disability services as focus areas, and has been a parliamentary secretary for health.
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, includes $3.9 billion of new health investment in 2026-27.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, targets 65% renewables by 2030 and 95% by 2035.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Labor's platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, cites implementation of the Statewide Treaty Act 2025.
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.
A Star Weekly headline reports that the sitting MP won't match a waste-to-energy promise, tying him to the local incinerator dispute; the article body could not be retrieved, so his position is not stated here. RReported — STARWEEKLY-SUNBURYMPStar Weekly, "Sunbury MP won't match waste-to-energy promise"View source
The Tally Room lists airport rail delays and Calder Freeway upgrades among the seat's live issues; neither is attributed to him personally. RReported — TALLYROOM-SUNBURYThe Tally Room, "Sunbury — Victoria 2026"View source
Track record & prior candidacies
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.
As the sitting member, Bull met the "elected" limb of the test in 2022, and his 43.1% first-preference vote was also well above 4%.