Legislative Assembly · District of Sydenham
Joh Bauch
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Sydenham›
Sydenham covers outer north-western Melbourne suburbs including Sydenham, Taylors Hill, Taylors Lakes, Delahey, Hillside, Plumpton, Deanside and Calder Park. It was created for the 2014 election, largely replacing Keilor, and Labor's Natalie Hutchins has held it ever since, winning in 2022 with 43.5% of first preferences and 58.7% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Joseph Cullia. Hutchins announced on 16 October 2025 that she will not recontest, and left the ministry in December 2025, so 2026 is an open contest. The field found is seven candidates: Labor's Uros Rasic, the Liberals' Nathalie Moussi, the Greens' Maggie Jane, the Victorian Socialists' Shania Khan, One Nation's Joh Bauch and independents Maria Kerr and Ashley Vandenburg. The Tally Room notes a fragmented conservative vote with several right-of-centre candidates, and a proposed AI data centre at Plumpton is a local issue.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Community safety and law and order, infrastructure including the Taylors Road duplication, local consultation, support for families and carers, lower taxes and accountable government.
"The West deserves better and is determined to stand up for the people who call it home."
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 support for families facing rising costs.
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 community safety, law and order, crime reduction and police resources as his lead priority.
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 Bauch personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Wants lower taxes, reduced government waste and debt, and accountability.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Wants roads, public transport and the Taylors Road duplication.
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 Bauch personally.
Health and healthcare access
Wants support for carers.
Urban planning and housing density
Wants local consultation on major developments.
Climate and energy transition
The party platform, as summarised by the Australian Election Tracker, opposes Net Zero by 2050; nothing is attributed to Bauch 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 Bauch 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-JB, ET-ON-POLICYOne Nation Victoria, "Joh Bauch for Sydenham"View sourceAustralian Election Tracker, "One Nation policy profile — 2026 Victorian election"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
An independent named Joh Bauch stood in neighbouring Kororoit in 2022, receiving 978 votes (2.4%); the distinctive name makes it likely, but it is not confirmed, that this is the same person. VVerified — WIKI-KOR22Wikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Kororoit"View source
He is not among the candidates in the 2022 Sydenham results. VVerified — WIKI-SYD-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Sydenham"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.
If he is the same independent who stood in Kororoit in 2022 he polled 2.4%, below the 4% mark. One Nation did not field a Sydenham candidate in 2022.