Amelia Hamer will formally launch her Liberal campaign for Malvern on Sunday, after an early push that has seen almost 200 campaign signs appear outside homes across the wealthy Melbourne electorate.
The 33-year-old former research analyst is seeking to retain the blue-ribbon seat for the Liberals at Victoria’s state election on November 28. Her royal blue signs are already prominent in Toorak, Armadale and Malvern, including outside the homes of several prominent business figures.
Among those displaying their support are Tony Burgess, chairman of investment bank Flagstaff Partners; Michael Heine, chief executive of listed fund manager and fintech group Netwealth; and neurosurgeon Richard Bittar.
Former Victorian Liberal Party treasurer Andrew Abercrombie is also backing Hamer, with a sign outside his St Georges Road property in Toorak.
The visible support comes as Hamer builds her campaign after leaving her job at Ord Minnett a fortnight ago. She previously ran unsuccessfully to reclaim the federal seat of Kooyong from independent MP Monique Ryan.
Amelia Hamer’s Malvern campaign gathers momentum
Hamer secured Liberal preselection over local party figure Jacquie Blackwell, who holds senior positions within the Victorian Liberal Party and its Kooyong and Malvern branches.
Blackwell was supported in the preselection contest by former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who represented Kooyong before Ryan defeated him in 2022. Frydenberg later ruled out a return to politics and confirmed his support for Hamer.
Despite the contest, Blackwell has joined Hamer on the campaign trail. She appeared with her at a voter “listening post” on Saturday wearing a Hamer campaign T-shirt and a Hawthorn scarf.
“Amelia is a great candidate, and she will make a fabulous member for Malvern,” Blackwell said. “I am 100 per cent behind her and am enjoying working closely with her.”
The Higgins Foundation, a Liberal fundraising vehicle directed by Blackwell’s husband, Richard Murray, will not provide money for Hamer’s campaign, according to a party source. The funds are being held for the next federal election.
Hamer’s campaign is nevertheless expected to spend less than the up to 300,000 Australian dollars that a candidate in a closely fought state seat might require. Her 2025 Kooyong campaign raised and spent 1.8 million Australian dollars, and her current operation is expected to assist Liberal candidates elsewhere in Victoria.
Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett, who backed Hamer’s federal preselection, will speak at Sunday’s launch at Toorak Park Pavilion in Malvern. Liberal deputy leader David Southwick will host the event, while Victorian senator Jane Hume is also due to address supporters.
Kennett said Hamer had the academic qualifications, commercial experience and communication skills needed to represent the electorate. He described her as someone who sought advice and acted on it.
“She has earned the respect of those who have gone before and those who are there because of her own effort and her personality,” Kennett said. “There is no doubt that Amelia has worked very hard.”
Hamer said her early visits to voters had shown a desire for change and attacked the Labor government over infrastructure, crime and rising costs.
“Malvern residents are sick and tired of a Labor government that has failed to deliver for Victorians,” she said. “The roads are full of potholes, crime is out of control and costs just keep going up.”
Hamer is seeking to succeed Michael O’Brien, the former state treasurer and opposition leader who is retiring after holding Malvern for two decades. The Liberals hold the seat with a margin of 6 per cent.
Kennett said he was “absolutely” confident Hamer would win, predicting she would be among a group of new conservative MPs elected in November.
