Independent candidate Kim Robbins says years of unfulfilled promises and frustration over funding for the southern Mornington Peninsula pushed her to stop waiting for someone else to stand and nominate for Nepean herself.
Speaking with STPL News over coffee at her home, Robbins described a decision that was less about a long-held ambition to enter Parliament and more about becoming frustrated with what she sees as a lack of delivery from successive governments.
“I’ve got really tired of the major parties coming in and promising us heaps of money.”
“We’ve been promised money for Rosebud Hospital since Greg Hunt’s days. I appreciate that’s federal, but everybody comes and promises funding for the hospital and it never turns up.”
Robbins said she had previously supported independent candidate Tracee Hutchison and was disappointed when Hutchison decided not to contest the November 2026 state election.
“When there was no independent candidate that was going to run, I went, okay, I’m sick of waiting for the right person.”
“I’m doing it myself because we’ve got to find out where the money’s gone that we continually get promised.”
Robbins is now campaigning as an independent for Nepean at November’s Victorian election.
Liberal MP Anthony Marsh currently holds the seat, having won the May 2026 by-election triggered by the resignation of former Liberal MP Sam Groth.
‘Make People Sit Up And Listen’
Robbins believes Nepean’s history as a relatively safe seat has worked against the electorate when governments decide where to direct investment.
“I think it is really very much a safe seat.”
“As with safe seats around the state and the country, we get nothing, we get no love whatsoever.”
She pointed to other parts of Victoria as examples of electorates she believes receive greater political attention.
“If you look over at Geelong, or even Frankston, it gets more love than we do.”
“So I think the best thing we can do is make the seat marginal and make people sit up and listen to us.”
Robbins said her objective was to make governments pay closer attention to Nepean, regardless of which major party was in power.
“I don’t care whether it’s Liberal, Labor and what kind of situation we’re in.”
“I will influence and ethically nudge as best I can for the people of Nepean.”
Asked what an independent could achieve without the machinery of a major party behind them, Robbins argued that independence provided greater freedom to negotiate around local priorities.
“I honestly believe that the benefit of having a representative who’s an independent is that they don’t have to follow the party line.”
She used Rosebud Hospital and a CT scanner as examples of issues an independent MP could continually raise during negotiations.
“Whichever colour you are, whether you’re the red team, blue team, orange team, whatever it may be, where’s our money?”
“You guys have been promising us for a long time. Show us the money.”
Rosebud Hospital Front And Centre
Rosebud Hospital emerged repeatedly during the conversation.
The hospital is among Mornington Peninsula Shire’s major advocacy priorities ahead of the state election, with the Shire calling for investment in a new Rosebud Hospital as part of its Shout Out for the Peninsula campaign.
Robbins said the growing political focus on the hospital was welcome.
“I’m thrilled that Rosebud Hospital is finally on the agenda.”
While supporting a longer-term solution, Robbins said attention should also be paid to changes that could improve services in the meantime.
She raised extending pathology services and providing greater flexibility for radiography staff as examples.
Robbins was careful to acknowledge that she had not independently confirmed the operational details with the hospital.
“I haven’t spoken to anyone from the hospital to confirm, but it seems like a sensible place to start.”
She said hospital staff she had spoken with had raised possible operational changes that could reduce delays.
“I think there’s small adjustments, but they don’t have the funds to be able to make those small adjustments to make life for everybody there a little less painful.”
The conversation also turned to the public-private partnership proposal that became an issue during the Nepean by-election.
Robbins said her preference was for Rosebud Hospital to remain within a fully public system.
“I think that we definitely need a public system.”
However, she also acknowledged she had not examined the details of the proposal.
“I haven’t seen what the proposal is, but it feels to me like it should be public.”
Roads ‘Frankly Terrifying’
Road conditions were another major focus of the interview.
Robbins, who rides a scooter, described travelling on some Mornington Peninsula roads as “frankly terrifying”.
“It’s not just the traffic that you’re watching, you’re also watching for potholes.”
“When you’re on a scooter you’re a lot closer to the ground. It’s just scary.”
The Victorian Auditor-General reported this month that the overall condition of Victoria’s state road network was deteriorating.
Around 48 per cent of the network was assessed as being in poor or very poor condition in 2024, compared with 39 per cent in 2021, while the audit found maintenance needs were accumulating faster than repairs.
Robbins said she wanted to explore whether the Mornington Peninsula could be treated separately under state road maintenance contracting arrangements, rather than competing for resources across a much larger metropolitan area.
“We need a contractor who’s based down here so that we’re not competing with contractors.”
She said separating the Mornington Peninsula into its own road maintenance contracting area could provide a starting point.
“If I could wave a magic wand, that would be a sensible first step.”
Homelessness And The Short-Stay Levy
The conversation then turned to homelessness and housing pressure across the Mornington Peninsula.
Mornington Peninsula Shire reported that about 168 people were sleeping rough on the Mornington Peninsula at the end of May, representing a 32 per cent increase over the previous six months.
Robbins said she wanted more of the money generated locally through Victoria’s short-stay accommodation levy directed back into housing and homelessness services on the Mornington Peninsula.
Victoria’s short-stay levy is charged at 7.5 per cent of the total booking fee, with revenue directed towards social and affordable housing. The State Revenue Office says 25 per cent of levy revenue is invested in regional Victoria.
“We need to get our fair share of the Airbnb levy.”
Robbins estimated there were about 4,000 short-stay properties in the Nepean area and offered to provide STPL News with the data supporting that figure.
She said additional funding could help local support organisations intervene before people lose their housing.
“Once you come out of that house, it’s very hard to get back in.”
Robbins also recalled participating in a community sleep-out with her husband.
Even in a controlled environment, she said the experience prompted conversations about what it could be like for a parent living in a car with children while trying to maintain employment.
“Can you imagine being a single mum with two kids in your car trying to hold down a job?”
Robbins said homelessness should not be reduced to assumptions about the people experiencing it.
“Nobody chooses to be homeless.”
“There’s people that are in that situation for whatever reason, and I think that we should be helping people, giving them a hand up so that they can get back on track.”
The contrast between wealth and homelessness on the southern Mornington Peninsula was something Robbins said remained difficult to reconcile.
“Portsea is the wealthiest suburb in the country. That just astounds me.”
“And yet one suburb over and there’s people sleeping on the beach.”
‘Open The Doors’
Beyond individual policy issues, Robbins said she wanted to change how residents interacted with their local MP if elected.
She proposed community town halls where residents could discuss legislation and said she would like younger people in particular to have opportunities to see how parliamentary decisions were made.
“I want to be the candidate who opens the doors and looks behind the curtain and helps people understand.”
Robbins said she would also publish explanations of her parliamentary votes and decisions.
“This is how you wanted me to vote. This is what everybody said. This is what I did.”
She said an elected representative should also be prepared to change their view when presented with new information, provided they explained the reasoning publicly.
“I wouldn’t be ashamed to say, I found out, I didn’t know this before, now I know this.”
“I think it’s important to be taking people along on that journey.”
Politics Without The Talking Points
Robbins said voters had become increasingly frustrated with politicians appearing to avoid questions in favour of rehearsed party messages.
“People can see you just asked this question and you’ve just given the talking points that you’ve been given that day from someone in your HQ.”
“People aren’t fools. People can see it straight away.”
She said she did not consider changing a position after receiving new information to necessarily be a weakness.
“I’m not okay with flip-flopping, but I’m okay with maybe changing my answer when I find out more information.”
Robbins said transparency about why a position had changed was the important distinction.
“I didn’t know this before, now I know this. I think that we should be looking at it this way.”
As the conversation drew to a close, Robbins returned to the motivation she said had pushed her into the race.
After years of watching promises made to the southern Mornington Peninsula, she said she had reached the point where waiting for another candidate was no longer enough.
“I’m sick of waiting for the right person.”
“I’m doing it myself.”
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