If Wannon is still getting the “raw prawn”, Alex Dyson might just throw his hat back into the ring

Independent Wannon candidate Alex Dyson has left the door open for another tilt at parliament in 2028, as new figures reveal his 2025 campaign raised more than $2.18 million - one of the largest community-backed efforts in regional Australia.

When asked whether he might run again, Dyson told the Brolga he was “keeping [his] options open”. 

“If Wannon is still getting the raw prawn from Canberra, then maybe.”

Dyson said he was always encouraging locals to “put their hand up and be a voice for their community”.

❓What happened: The AEC’s disclosure, published this week, shows Dyson’s campaign received a total of $2,186,936 in combined cash and in-kind contributions from almost 1,800 donations. 

In 2022, his campaign raised under $200,000, and his 2019 self-funded campaign totalled just $5,000.

🏡 Local impacts: Dyson, 37, said the campaign reflected the community’s appetite for “a competitive campaign” in a seat that had been held by the Liberals for more than 70 years.

“The response was enormous,” he said. “We had 1,786 cash donations averaging $674, the majority of them from south west Victorians chipping in what they could.”

📖 Open information: He said transparency was central to the campaign, noting that all contributions were published in real time online.

The AEC will disclose donations to the major parties in February 2026.

It is not known how much Wannon MP Dan Tehan spent on his campaign, or who bankrolled it. Unlike Independents, who must file detailed post-election returns listing every dollar raised and spent, major party candidates’ finances are folded into their party’s national accounts, meaning there is no breakdown by electorate. 

🔢 The numbers: Dyson laughed off an AEC website error that appeared to show a surplus of funds for a future campaign, clarifying the figure was due to a clerical mistake. 

“Our total expenditure should read $1,969,775 with a balance of $217,161, which will remain to help future Independent candidates stand up for the community,” he said.

“I’m liaising with the AEC to ensure it’s correctly reflected in their figures, and I apologise for any confusion caused.”