*Independent candidate Antoinette Pitt talks about her campaign for the upcoming Victorian State Election.
@AntPitt4VicEast
#antpitt4viceast
PRESS RELEASE
Meet Ant Pitt: The Nurse Taking on Party-Machine Politics in Eastern Victoria.
Nurse, community advocate and Independent candidate, Antoinette (Ant) Pitt is standing for Eastern Victoria in the 2026 Victorian State Election, determined to put everyday people back at the centre of political decision-making.
Ant Pitt isn't a career politician. She's a working nurse, a mum, a workplace representative and a community advocate who believes the people making decisions in Parliament need a better understanding of what life is like for the people affected by them.
Growing up in Lilydale, 3rd generation in the Yarra Ranges and now living in Montrose, Ant has strong connections to Melbourne's outer east. Her nursing career has also taken her across Eastern Victoria, including Traralgon, Bairnsdale and Phillip Island.
Through her work in healthcare, including as a workplace representative with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), she has seen firsthand the growing pressures on workers, families and essential services
.
"I didn't grow up wanting to be a politician. I'm a nurse. I see problems, I listen to people, and I try to do something about them," Ms Pitt said.
"But there comes a point when you realise that some of the biggest problems people face can't be fixed at the bedside. They need to be addressed in Parliament."
Putting people before party politics, running as an Independent for Victoria's Upper House, Ant says her commitment is to the communities of Eastern Victoria, not a party machine.
"People are tired of being told what they need by politicians who rarely experience the consequences of their own decisions.
I want to be accountable to the people who elect me. Not party headquarters, not corporate donors, and not whoever has the loudest lobby group.
Good ideas don't belong to one side of politics. I'll work with anyone willing to deliver practical outcomes for our communities."
A nurse's perspective on the issues that matter, Ant's campaign brings together her experience in nursing, workplace advocacy, community, volunteering and healthcare sustainability.
Her priorities include:
● Ending homelessness: Recognising that safe, secure housing is essential healthcare,
and increasing investment in public housing.
● Fully funding public schools: Giving every child a fair opportunity, regardless of their family's income or postcode.
● Strengthening healthcare: Supporting frontline workers, addressing ambulance ramping and ensuring hospitals have the staffed capacity to care for their communities.
● Making tomorrow more affordable: Addressing the pressures of housing, energy, transport and everyday living costs.
● Supporting regional communities: Protecting food security, supporting farmers and ensuring regional communities receive a fair return from the resources and industries operating in their areas.
● Building community resilience: Supporting practical local solutions that help communities prepare for challenges, reduce waste and look after one another.
"These issues aren't separate. When someone can't afford a home, their health suffers. When families are struggling to put food on the table, their children struggle at school. When we fail to invest in prevention, we end up paying for the consequences somewhere else.
As a nurse, I'm trained to look at the whole person, not just the presenting symptom. I think we need more of that thinking in government."
Listening across Eastern Victoria, from the Yarra Ranges and Mornington Peninsula to the Latrobe Valley and East Gippsland, Ant has been taking her campaign directly to communities, meeting residents, listening to local concerns and learning what matters to people across the region.
She says communities don't expect their representatives to have every answer, but they do expect them to show up, listen and follow through.
"Eastern Victoria is a huge and diverse region. What matters to a family in Pakenham might be very different from what matters to a farmer in Gippsland or a resident in Mallacoota.
That's why listening matters. I don't want to walk into communities with a prepared speech about what I think they need. I want to hear it from them."
Moving Forward Together
Ant believes kindness and courage are not opposing qualities, but are two things desperately needed in modern politics.
"Kindness doesn't mean being a pushover. It means treating people with dignity. Courage means being prepared to stand up, ask difficult questions and challenge decisions when they're not serving our communities.
We don't have to agree on everything to work together towards a better future.
I'm asking the people of Eastern Victoria to consider something different this November: someone who will advocate for voters, not donors, and who is prepared to put community before party politics.
Because we all deserve a safe, liveable, happy future — and a more affordable tomorrow."
Be kind. Be brave. Be the change.
Media enquiries / Interview opportunities
Antoinette (Ant) Pitt
Independent Candidate – Eastern Victoria Region
2026 Victorian State Election
Website: www.antpitt4eastvic.com
Email: info@kindcouragechange.com
Ant is available for interviews, candidate profiles and discussions on local issues affecting Eastern Victoria.
Authorised by Jason Rijnbeek, 28 Swift Way,Dandenong South VIC 3175.
Joe Toscano
