The new electoral boundaries came into effect on November 1.
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The shape of the electorate has changed quite drastically.
The Wendouree district will now include parts of Sebastopol and Bonshaw, and has gained 8145 voters from the former Buninyong (now Eureka) district.
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In the new boundaries, it lost Bakery Hill and Brown Hill to Eureka, and Invermay and Mount Rowan to Ripon.
The seat has been held by the Australian Labor Party since it was drawn in 2014.
Incumbent Juliana Addison ran for the first time in 2018, where she won 49.39 per cent of the vote. She will be running again in 2022.
Ian Harkness - Family First Victoria
The party is working to repeal the Victorian Conversion and Suppression law provisions which were passed in February, 2022.
They are also looking to advocate for a Royal Commission into the COVID-19 pandemic response and lift bans on gas exploration to ensure reliability.
Bryn Hills - Animal Justice Party
Mr Hills' last election was in 2019 when he ran for AJP in the federal election.
Mr Hills said the "enormity of the existential crisis" residents were currently facing drove him to run again.
"It is because we have disrespected animals, we have disrespected nature, we have disrespected the environment and the planet."
The high school teacher said the biggest issue facing Wendouree residents was the climate crisis.
"I noticed in your reader survey, one of the biggest things were roads, which have been severely affected by all the flooding," Mr Hills said.
"I know first-hand about potholes because as a motorcycle rider ... if you hit a pothole it can be disastrous."
Samantha McIntosh - Liberals
Ms McIntosh has been a City of Ballarat councillor for the past 14 years and in that time has served three terms as mayor.
"My role over the last few terms on council has been about listening to our community and being a voice."
In 2007 she ran as the Liberal candidate in the federal election against Labor's Catherine King.
She said healthcare was one of the biggest issues facing the electorate of Wendouree at the moment.
"People want to know that they can get to a hospital on time," she said.
"They do not want to wait six hours for an ambulance."
She said she would like to see collaboration between state and local governments to continue working on roads.
"There is only a certain amount that local council can do to fix potholes."
Juliana Addison - Australian Labor Party
Ms Addison ran for the first time in 2018 against Liberal candidate Cr Amy Johnson.
She said her last term was not what she expected, with COVID-19 throwing a spanner in the works.
"I absolutely love this job. It is one of the greatest opportunities to be able to represent your community."
Cost of living was one of the top issues facing the people of Wendouree, she said.
"I was at a supermarket the other day ... a woman walked out with with her young kids and I asked her how she was," Ms Addison said.
"She said she had to hand all her groceries back, because she could not afford them.
"What we really need to do is just think about what are the ways that we can reduce the stress on families."
Bren Eckel - Independent
During the 2016 federal election, Mr Eckel also ran as an independent.
He was a last addition to the race, nominating on the last day available.
Mr Eckel briefly attended the ballot draw on Friday but did not speak to the media.
Dianne Colbert - Labour DLP
Ms Colbert last participated in 2018 where she ran as an independent in Buninyong. She said her platform supported the 'Coalition Against Unsafe Sexual Education'.
In 2016 she ran in the federal election representing the Australian Christians and also ran for the Ballarat City Council elections.
Her mental health first aid accreditation was suspended in 2017 following a series of anti-LGBTIQA+ Facebook posts which included videos about "healing from homosexuality".
Ellen Burns - Australian Greens
Ms Burns is a small business owner and Brown Hill resident.
In 2020 Ms Burns was a candidate for Ballarat's North Ward, she was one of three Greens endorsed candidates across the city and she finished third in first preference counts.
She said she enjoyed the 2020 campaign despite some other candidates finding it "too stressful".
"I had a really good time getting out there and meeting different people," Ms Burns said.
"I heard from them about what they were struggling with or what was important to them."
Ms Burns said a top priority for the Wendouree seat would be cost of living.
"As much as we hear the term all over the place at the moment, it really has to be one of the biggest issues," she said.
"I run a volunteer group that addresses food insecurity [The Hidden Orchard] and I see first-hand how many Ballarat residents are struggling with food security."
Ms Burns said improvements to the public transport system and housing standard would also have a flow-on effect to cost of living pressures.
Where to vote
Early voting begins on Monday - you can cast your ballot from 9am at the following early voting centres:
- Shop 117, Stockland Wendouree
- 81 Bridge Mall, Bakery Hill
- Warehouse 1, 328 Eureka Street, Ballarat East
- 8 Grant Street, Bacchus Marsh
- 31 Lambert Street, Ararat
- 3 Neill Street, Maryborough
The election will be held on November 26.
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