Legislative Assembly · District of Wendouree
Chris Meagher
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Wendouree›
Wendouree covers the north, south-west and west of Ballarat, including Wendouree, Alfredton and Delacombe, and has been held by Labor since it was created for the 2014 election. Juliana Addison won it in 2018 and was re-elected in 2022 with 47.6% of first preferences and 63.5% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Samantha McIntosh. She is recontesting. The 2026 field found is five candidates: Addison, the Greens' Ellen Burns, One Nation's Stuart Robinson, the Victorian Socialists' Chris Meagher and the Animal Justice Party's Melissa Collins. No Liberal candidate has been found, although Wikipedia's 2026 candidates table lists Burns under the Liberals, which conflicts with the Greens' own candidates page.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Housing crisis solutions, rent cuts and freezes, public housing construction, urban planning, support for social services and addressing homelessness.
"Australia is an extremely wealthy country, we have enough to go around and to ensure nobody is living in poverty."
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
Says Australia is wealthy enough to ensure nobody lives in poverty, and wants overwhelmed social services supported.
The party's fiscal policy would fund services with a 10% annual wealth tax on billionaires and a 20% bank profits tax.
Crime and community safety
A summary of the party's policing policy says it would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16; nothing is attributed to Meagher personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Wants investors forced to house people or sell empty properties, urgent rent cuts and freezes, minimum rental quality standards and expanded public housing construction.
The party's housing policy would cut all residential rents 25% then freeze them for five years, and build at least 15,000 public housing units a year for ten years.
State government debt and fiscal management
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
A summary of the party's transport policy says it would make public transport free; nothing is attributed to Meagher personally.
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
A summary of the party's education policy says it would provide universal preschool and childcare and end NAPLAN testing; nothing is attributed to Meagher personally.
Health and healthcare access
Wants overwhelmed social services supported, and cites more than 100 people sleeping rough in Ballarat each night.
Urban planning and housing density
Names urban planning and sustainable city growth as priorities.
Climate and energy transition
A summary of the party's energy policies says it would move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy; nothing is attributed to Meagher personally.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
A summary of the party's First Nations policy says it wants a treaty with material change beyond symbolic recognition; nothing is attributed to Meagher 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.
Their priorities match the Victorian Socialists' statewide platform. SSelf-stated — VS-CM, VS-POLICIESVictorian Socialists, "Chris Meagher"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
Their profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — VS-CMVictorian Socialists, "Chris Meagher"View source
They are not among the candidates in the 2022 Wendouree results. VVerified — WIKI-WEN-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Wendouree"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.
Meagher has not previously contested an election, and the Victorian Socialists did not field a Wendouree candidate in 2022.