Legislative Assembly · District of Yan Yean
Andrew Bell
Last verified 30 Sept 2026
Seat context — Yan Yean›
Yan Yean is a Labor-held seat on Melbourne's northern fringe covering Mernda, Yarrambat, Laurimar, Whittlesea and Wandong across the Whittlesea, Nillumbik and Mitchell council areas. Lauren Kathage succeeded Danielle Green in 2022, winning with 41.4% of first preferences and 54.3% two-party-preferred against the Liberals' Richard Welch, a margin of about 4 points, and is recontesting. The Tally Room calls it a must-win seat for the Liberals and says One Nation is an emerging threat in some booths. The 2026 field found is six candidates: Kathage, the Liberals' Amanda Dow, the Greens' Gufran Mohammed, One Nation's Jeremy Johnson, the Victorian Socialists' Andrew Bell and the Animal Justice Party's Sinan Okatan.
Background
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Inequality and cost of living, housing, climate action, protecting public services, countering the far right, union organising and Palestine solidarity.
"Australia is a wealthy society in which everyone deserves to live a decent life."
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 inequality and the cost-of-living crisis as priorities.
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 Bell personally.
Housing affordability and supply
Names the housing crisis as a priority.
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 Bell 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 Bell personally.
Health and healthcare access
Wants basic public services protected.
A summary of the party's health policy says it would fully fund public healthcare and expand free community clinics.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Names climate action as a priority.
A summary of the party's energy policies says it would move to 100% publicly owned renewable energy.
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 Bell 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-AB, VS-POLICIES, VS-CANDIDATESVictorian Socialists, "Andrew Bell"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Policies"View sourceVictorian Socialists, "Candidates"View source
No point of divergence was found.
Track record & prior candidacies
Their profile mentions no prior candidacy. SSelf-stated — VS-ABVictorian Socialists, "Andrew Bell"View source
They are not among the candidates in the 2022 Yan Yean results, in which the Victorian Socialists did not field a candidate. VVerified — WIKI-YY-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Yan Yean"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.
Bell has not previously contested an election, and the Victorian Socialists did not field a Yan Yean candidate in 2022.