General News
30 June, 2026
Moriarty runs for upper house
Humanitarian worker and community advocate Aleta Moriarty has announced she will run as an independent candidate for the Western Victoria upper house seat.
Currently based in Geelong, Ms Moriarty grew up in rural Australia, an experience she feels has given her a “deep understanding of what it means to grow up outside the major cities, where opportunity feels further away and services harder to access.”
Ms Moriarty has a Master’s degree in International Relations and has worked in leadership roles with the United Nations and the World Bank, working across more than 20 countries in humanitarian emergencies and war zones. She has worked in business, led major organisations, and is currently completing her doctorate.
In a statement released when announcing her candidacy, Ms Moriarty said current cost of living pressures were a major part of her campaign.
“Australians are working harder than ever and falling further behind. Since 1990, home values have grown at more than double the rate of wages,” she said.
“More Australians are renting later in life and more are never buying at all. Australia has one of the most unequal education systems in the developed world and among the highest costs for secondary schooling in the OECD.
“People feel like they are on a treadmill. Working harder, going nowhere. That is a policy failure that has been compounding for decades. You cannot fix a broken system with the same people who broke it.”
Alongside tackling the economic inequality driving the housing, education and cost of living crisis, Ms Moriarty’s campaign is built around a clear set of commitments, including stronger integrity measures and anti-corruption reform, defending human rights and women’s rights, a fairer deal for regional Victorians including greater infrastructure investment and full transparency around regional spending; fighting for full public funding for public schools now, and serious, sustained climate action to protect Victoria’s environment.
Since the launch of her candidature, she said the response has been “extraordinary”.
“This campaign belongs to the community, not to corporations or party machines,” she said.
Ms Moriarty is running a full program of free community talks across Western Victoria, with more events held online so anyone, anywhere in the region, can get involved.
The Western Victoria Region contains 11 electorates, including the seat of Ripon, with five current sitting members including Jacinta Ermacora, Gayle Tierney, Sarah Mansfield, Joe McCracken and Bev McArthur.
Gayle Tierney and Joe McCracken will not be recontesting in November’s election.