Council
18 August, 2026
Teen hopes to make history
A WARRNAMBOOL teenager has set her sights on becoming the state’s youngest Member of Parliament, believing the major parties have overlooked the region for far too long.
Hera Sheppard, 18, is Victoria’s youngest election candidate after she received preselection from the Victorian Socialists to run for the seat of South West Coast this November.
Securing a win at the polls would create history, with former premier Jacinta Allan being Victoria’s youngest female to be elected as a Member of Parliament at the age of 25.
Ms Sheppard said she was running as she believes in a society that’s more sustainable, more equitable, and more just than the capitalist system of today.
“I am running in this year’s state election because workers everywhere deserve a party that fights for them, not for their corporate donors,” she said.
“No party in parliament is genuinely on the workers’ side.
“The Liberals and Labor have made cutting our essential services their top priority, and One Nation is in the pocket of Gina Rinehart, a mining billionaire that wants Australian workers to work for $2 a day.
“Only the Victorian Socialists are firmly on the side of the workers, not the billionaires.”
Among the leading issues for Ms Sheppard is the public housing system, which she said she had lived in for most of her life, watching as the state government sold off houses to the private system while letting the remaining houses remain empty and fall to ruin despite rising waiting lists.
Another point of concern for Ms Sheppard is the beleaguered V/Line services on the Warrnambool Line.
She said the line represents the epitome of what’s wrong with the system, with cuts under the Liberals making services among the state’s most expensive, while Labor’s one-size-fits-all approach has failed to make services fit for purpose.
Ms Sheppard cited the Victorian Socialists plan to work towards upgrading the Warrnambool Line to 160km/h, which would drastically reduce travel times and increase safety, as an example of what could be achieved in the south west.
The district has been a Liberal stronghold since forming in 2002, with Denis Napthine being the sitting member until his 2015 resignation.
Liberal Roma Britnell was voted in at the 2015 by-election in dominant fashion and continues to be the sitting member to this day.
At the previous election, Ms Britnell secured 42.9 per cent of votes in a swing of 8.5 per cent – securing a 58 per cent victory over Labor’s Kylie Gaston.
While the prospect of victory is a tall task, Ms Sheppard said both major parties have overlooked the South West Coast as Labor knows they can’t win the seat and the Liberals know they won’t lose it.
“As residents of an incredibly safe Liberal seat, I think it’s important that we have a candidate to represent a working class left, rather than the Labor Party or the Greens, who fail to put workers first,” she said.
“If elected in November, I’ll fight to ensure that workers are given the future we deserve.”
