IN THE inimitable words of Taylor Swift, the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, but baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake it off!

Bass MP Jordan Crugnale didn’t say that when she announced last week that she would not be contesting the November 2026 election after two stellar terms as our local MP.

But she alluded to the former Tay Tay Number 1 Hit, which we guessed was “Shake it off”, when asked by the Sentinel-Times this week why she wasn’t standing again and what she was doing next.

Her response included her plans, which might extend to a mature-age apprenticeship as an electrician, but also a reference to Taylor Swift which might say something about the public pressures that exist for an MP representing a highly-marginal seat in the age of desk-top warriors and social media trolls.

“Thank you to everyone that has left such kind words on my Facebook page, called and sent emails. I have been really taken aback,” said Ms Crugnale of the supportive feedback she received.

But in an electorate where the 49,000 voters are split equally into three camps, those who vote Labor, those who vote Liberal and those who vote for someone else but in 2022, preferred Ms Crugnale by just 202 votes, you’re bound to have a divergence of opinion.

“For those that are commenting that I am finishing up because I have read the room – well what can I say? The odds last election were almost 5:1 against – I didn’t do a runner, I threw everything into it with an amazing branch, members and supporters around me. There’s a very apt Taylor Swift song one can insert here!”

So, “the haters gonna hate”, but representing the most marginal seat in the state, as part of the government of the day, has paid off for Bass.

Among the positive sentiments on Ms Crugnale’s own Facebook page was the following by former Bass Coast Mayor, council colleague and 2018 State Election opponent, Clare Le Serve:

• Clare Le Serve: Oh, that’s sad news but what an amazing representative for our community. Job well done Jordan. I take my hat off to you for having the courage to stand and represent your community. We have never had the political attention in the Seat of Bass. Go in peace.

The negative comments may have been removed from Ms Crugnale’s page, but a number still exist on the Sentinel-Times’ Facebook page which reflect the sentiments Ms Crugnale was referring to, as follows:

• Andy Boldiston: She has seen the writing on the wall.
• Ben Hurst: Photo opportunities must have run out.
• Amber Lucas: Woohoo, best news ever.

But positive messages too:

• Lindsay John: Hi Jordan, thank you. You have been a good friend of the Inverloch RSL.
• Amanda McMahon: Thank you, Jordan. Your tireless work has provided hospitals, School, kindergartens, and funded community organisations. You have always respectfully put community first.

Ms Crugnale’s efforts, over the past seven years, as the local Member for Bass, and before that as Mayor of Bass Coast, also attracted high praise from the Premier Jacinta Allan.

While acknowledging the key role Ms Crugnale played in the redevelopment of the Wonthaggi Hospital, the establishment of a new junior secondary college at San Remo and the development of a new community hospital at Cowes, Ms Allan said “Jordan embodies Labor values in everything she does”.

“The Member for Bass, has advised me she will not be seeking re-election in 2026,” said the Premier.

“The daughter of Italian immigrants, she grew up with a strong sense of fairness, and has always cared about social justice.

“Her dad was a builder, who knew the importance of laying a solid foundation, and getting things right.

“As Jordan told the Parliament, it’s both a lesson for life, and a Labor story: laying the foundations, doing the hard work, and building something together.

“Jordan was elected to the Parliament in 2018, having already served on the Bass Coast Shire Council, and as Mayor.

“Serving her community opened her eyes to the growing disadvantage many were facing.

“Jordan saw high rates of family violence, low rates of school completion, and older Victorians who were taking long bus trips to hospital with their x-rays under their arm.

“She saw that too many families were struggling to put food on the table, and suffering housing stress.

“And motivated by her sense of fairness, inclusion and opportunity, she put her hand up to fight for them.

“Jordan knew what her community needed – and what a Labor Government could deliver for them.

“As their Labor Member for Bass, she has delivered funding for programs or upgrades to more than 20 schools – including a new Bass Coast Junior Secondary College.

“A better bigger Wonthaggi hospital is now open, doubling the hospitals surgery capacity and giving locals the opportunity to get the care they need closer to home.

“A new community hospital is also on the way and a new ambulance station is already open.

“She’s delivered dozens of community sport upgrades and equipment grants across Bass, making sure local kids can discover their passion for footy and cricket and netball and basketball in their own neighbourhoods.

“Jordan loves the beautiful environment and coastline of Bass.

“She’s delivered new jetties at Warneet South and North, as well as upgraded boat ramps in Lang Lang, Inverloch, and Tooradin.

“Every day, she has been guided by her values, and her strong sense of community.

“I hope she’s incredibly proud of her contribution as the Member for Bass.”

As for what comes next, maybe a little holiday with the family, too old to be a bricklayer like her dad, maybe a mature-age apprenticeship but “nothing lined up”.

But, in the meantime, there’s still work to be done.

What comes next for Jordan?

This week Ms Crugnale responded to questions from the Sentinel-Times after announcing her intention last Thursday, not to seek re-election in Bass.

What are your priorities for Bass?

The electorate is rather big and long and there are projects right across it that deserve continued attention in terms of infrastructure both social and capital.

• Westernport Strategic framework which is supported by the UNESCO Biosphere Foundation, resolution from four councils, industry, environment organisations, DEECA, Melbourne Water and community groups. Port Phillip has one and as the second largest body of water in Victoria we need one as well.
• Several CFA stations and SES Units need to relocate for a number of reasons and need fit for purpose, modern facilities these include Lang Lang, Devon Meadows, Koo Wee Rup and San Remo SES, also with a growing community several current stations need satellite ones like Cape Woolamai, Coronet Bay and Cape Paterson.
• VLine and PT Buses need timetable tweaks, an uplift in services, additional service routes to suit how people move around and where they need and want to go – whether that is for education, work, events, health and social support services.
• Wonthaggi needs a proper TAFE, Bass Coast College Dudley campus a major rebuild, Clyde Secondary a performing arts building, upgrades to Devon Meadows Primary, Wonthaggi North Primary and Koo Wee Rup Secondary just to name a few and of course the potential of the Wonthaggi old Senior Campus needs to be value captured, visioned and enacted and I am pleased that Bass Coast Shire have applied for a federal grant to do this work which I hope aligns with state government funding cycles and the upcoming election.
• Wonthaggi Hospital stage 1 was built with future stage 2 expansion in mind. There are two floors (shells) that can be fitted out and perfect for maternity and other services and I have tried to get early works funding to fit it out as part of stage 2 and continue to push and pitch this. Now that we have a local area health network this can be progressed and also that the Mental Health catchment area aligns with our health network.
• Newhaven Jetty needs to be restored and open, Warneet boat ramp upgraded to complement our investment in the rebuild of the two jetties there which open at the end of this month and with Inverloch, Mahers Landing, Tooradin and Lang Lang, Cowes and Rhyll we need to continue on and work on Newhaven, Grantville and Cannon’s Creek.
• Dalyston on the Bass Highway needs a proper pedestrian crossing to families can get to the rec reserve, rail trail, hall and playground – as we have done with Kilcunda. Tooradin, and Lang Lang also need safe pedestrian crossings again to access amenities, get to school, shops etc.
• Cowes Rec Reserve needs to be a priority for council, it is for the community of course, and have an allocation by them already to progress likely in stages given the breadth of what is needed on this site – am pleased they have started the work and I am keeping a close eye on this one.

Our track record in investment over the last 8 years has been extraordinary and this comes down to our community advocating positively with determination and grit and this is how we work best together and when council, State and Federal Government join the partnership.

• On the social front, more mental health professionals in primary and secondary schools, more parenting support through our Early parenting Centres and kinders, more early intervention supports and programs to keep our kids on track.
• Where we can support and work with council we continue to do so and we see this in coastal erosion mitigation, revegetation grants to stabilise the coastline,
• On the coastal erosion front – one thing I have been loud about also to our Ministers is that we have a lot of specific area data, the legislative framework and studies to now do a whole of coastline ‘hot spot’ identification mapping like they have in WA which has 55 of them – it’s colour coded based on risk level and has a dedicated and ratio-d funding bucket – this way we are strategic and considered and everyone and their respective area/towns know where they sit on the scale.
• More social housing, more supports for people doing it tough, more health and specialist services close to where we live, smile squad to expand into kinders on school sites, more buses, more women’s health mobile clinics, more of a lot really.

It’s a big list but not impossible as everything mentioned and more has been a focus over many years.

It goes without saying, I will also support the new Labor candidate and do my utmost to get them elected to the seat.

What are your plans post-November 2026?

Post November - probably a little holiday with the family and we will see. Nothing lined up.

I have always wanted to get into a trade - bit old now for a brickie like my dad maybe also for sparkie not sure who would take on a 56-year-old apprentice! I loved, loved, loved working in mental health so would need to skill up to get back into this area, reactivate my art practise, fix a few lawnmowers, garden, write a kids’ book that has been in my head for a few decades, audition for a WTG production, get back into sport, read books.

Thank you to everyone that has left such kind words on my Facebook page, called and sent emails – I have been really taken aback.

For those that are commenting that I am finishing up because I have read the room – well what can I say, the odds last election were almost 5:1 against – I didn’t do a runner, I threw everything into it with an amazing branch, members and supporters around me. There’s a very apt Taylor Swift song one can insert here!

When Jordan Crugnale won the seat of Bass in 2018, it was the first time the seat had been taken by Labor since the electorate was created in 2002 and proved it was no flash in the pan when she won it a second time in 2022, by the slender margin of 202 votes.

Jordan Crugnale’s statement

Thursday 2 October 2025: Serving, working for and walking beside the people of Bass has been more than a privilege - it is an experience that has shaped me profoundly and in ways I will carry with each step forward forever.

Representing our wonderful, growing, and proud community has been a journey imbued with highs and lows, fierce advocacy and hard-won outcomes, treasured friendships and beautiful connections.

I love what I do, and what I will continue to do. After much reflection however, I have decided that I will not re-contest the seat of Bass at the 2026 state election.

To the extraordinary people and organisations across our electorate – from schools and kinders to health services, sporting clubs, arts and cultural organisations, neighbourhood houses, local businesses, emergency services, community and environmental groups – thank you for welcoming me into your spaces, sharing your aspirations, innovations and challenges, and working with fierce determination to make our community stronger, fairer and more connected.

You are the sustained sparks of positive change that have enabled so much to be delivered: new and upgraded schools, expanded hospitals, road reconfiguring and duplications, new sporting pavilions, oval lights, nets and courts, boat ramps galore, inter-town trails, community hubs, more gigs in pubs, early parenting centres, new and upgraded emergency services brigades, units and stations, more social housing and support for vulnerable people, improved planning outcomes and protections for our beautiful environment.

There is always more to do – I know our community’s energy and drive will continue, and I am so proud of what we have been able to achieve together and the ways that we have changed the world around us in so many wonderful and enduring ways.

To my amazing electorate office team – compassionate, professional and relentlessly dedicated – you have always put the people of Bass first. Your work has touched thousands of lives and your kindness and smarts have lifted me daily.

To my local Branch, thank you for your tireless support, motivation, wisdom and care – on the doors, at the booths, shaping policy, and standing side by side through every campaign and every challenge. I am grateful beyond measure for the friendships we’ve built and our shared belief in the Labor movement’s capacity to change lives for the better.

To my parliamentary colleagues and in particular to Premier Jacinta Allan, thank you for your leadership, encouragement and commitment to building a stronger and fairer Victoria. And to former Premier Daniel Andrews, thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute, and for your leadership and support throughout my time in parliament.

To the people of Bass, right across the electorate past and present – from Pakenham and Clyde North through to our coastal villages, Pearcedale and Devon Meadows, Koo Wee Rup and surrounds over to the Bass Coast - thank you for trusting me with this extraordinary responsibility. Serving you as your local member has been an honour and a joy.

And to my beautiful, funny, kind, wise and curious kids, thank you for being you and for the hugs and love along the way - your school journey from start to finish aligns with my decision and I can’t wait to delve into new adventures and to continue to cherish every moment along the way.

It has been a privilege to contribute to this community - first in local government, and then through two terms in the Victorian Parliament, and I will give everything I have between now and November next year.

There is still a lot on our Bass ‘to do and must have’ lists, and so for now at least, the work goes on. Thank you.