ALP 18.6%
Incumbent MP
Maree Edwards, since 2010.
Geography
North-western Victoria. Bendigo West covers the western and southern suburbs of Bendigo, as well as areas to the south of Bendigo, including Castlemaine, Maldon and Newstead. Bendigo West covers parts of the City of Greater Bendigo, and a majority of Mount Alexander Shire.
History
Bendigo West previously existed as a state electorate from 1904 to 1927. It was restored in 1985, and in that time has been won by the ALP at all but one election.
The restored seat was won in 1985 by the ALP’s David Kennedy. He had previously won the federal seat of Bendigo at a 1969 by-election and was the only federal Labor MP to lose their seat at the 1972 election. He later won the state seat of Bendigo in 1982 and moved to the new seat of Bendigo West in 1985.
Kennedy was defeated in 1992 by the Liberal Party’s Max Turner. Turner held the seat for one term before losing to the ALP’s Bob Cameron in 1996.
Cameron has won re-election in 1999, 2002 and 2006, and served as a minister in the Labor state government from 1999 until 2010.
Cameron retired in 2010, and Labor candidate Maree Edwards was re-elected in Bendigo West. Edwards was re-elected in 2014 and 2018.
- Steve Serpell (Family First)
- Ken Price (Liberal)
- Victoria Maxwell (Animal Justice)
- Marilyn Nuske (Independent)
- Richard James Woolley (Freedom Party)
- Matt Bansemer (Independent)
- Maree Edwards (Labor)
- James Searle (Greens)
- Wayne Taylor (Legalise Cannabis)
Assessment
Bendigo West is a safe Labor seat.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Maree Edwards | Labor | 21,004 | 53.5 | +5.6 |
| Kevin Finn | Liberal | 10,641 | 27.1 | -5.2 |
| Laurie Whelan | Greens | 5,127 | 13.1 | +1.3 |
| Marilyn Nuske | Animal Justice | 2,504 | 6.4 | +6.4 |
| Informal | 2,042 | 4.9 | +0.6 |
2018 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Maree Edwards | Labor | 26,917 | 68.6 | +6.4 |
| Kevin Finn | Liberal | 12,349 | 31.5 | -6.4 |
Booths have been divided into four areas. The Bendigo area was split in three between central, south and west, with the remainder grouped as Mount Alexander.
Labor won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in all four areas, ranging from 60.5% in Bendigo West to 76.0% in Mount Alexander.
The Greens came third, with a primary vote ranging from 8.3% in Bendigo West to 19.3% in Mount Alexander.
| Voter group | GRN prim % | ALP 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| Mount Alexander | 19.3 | 76.0 | 8,394 | 21.4 |
| Bendigo South | 9.7 | 68.2 | 4,547 | 11.6 |
| Bendigo Central | 13.3 | 72.6 | 4,505 | 11.5 |
| Bendigo West | 8.3 | 60.5 | 2,835 | 7.2 |
| Pre-poll | 10.2 | 64.9 | 12,993 | 33.1 |
| Other votes | 15.2 | 67.0 | 6,002 | 15.3 |
Election results in Bendigo West at the 2018 Victorian state election
Toggle between two-party-preferred votes and primary votes for Labor, the Liberal Party and the Greens.
Didn’t realise how massive the Labor margin was on a regional seat like this.
Bendigo really has become a Labor stronghold over the last few decades.
I mentioned this trend in the Bendigo East thread.
In the late 1990s, several Bendigo-based (and Ballarat-based) federal and state seats flipped to Labor and have stayed since. Labor now have 2PP margins of over 10% in most of these federal and state seats.
Here, the high Greens vote in Castlemaine and in the centre of Bendigo have propped up the Labor 2PP.
Yes this is part of demographic
Change in country areas.. as well Bendigo and Ballarat are
Growing when parts of their area are shifted to other seats
They bring with them the 60/40 alp vote and assist Labor in the
New seat. This is also occurring
In the greater Geelong and having much the same effect
If the Lib vote drains away as expected, it’s very possible we could see the Greens overtake the liberals heer once the AJP preferences are counted and the seat then switch into a Green vs ALP tussle.
I suspect the more progressive areas around Castlemaine will have seen a influx of residents post lockdown which can only help the Greens.
We really don’t know liberal preference flow will go….but given Liberal advertising is focusing on a vote for the ALP is a vote for Dan Andrews, I think that Liberal preference will be very high.
Surprise Green win here?
The Castlemaine area is quite strong for the Greens, but this seat also contains some of the more working-class ‘old school Labor’ parts of Bendigo.
The Greens would need to improve their position in some of these low income areas to have a realistic chance IMHO.
I see an ALP vs LIB contest. There’s a relatively high Liberal vote and low Greens vote outside the very centre of Bendigo and Castlemaine.
If Castlemaine and Daylesford and a few towns in between are lumped together in the same electorate then it could be a Labor vs Greens contest.
Greens are running dead. Their candidate is a former inner city Melbourne councillor with zero social media presence. They might have been able to get a decent haul based on federal results, but they aren’t coming 2nd here
The Liberal candidate is a horticulturalist from Castlemaine and the treasurer of the Victorian Young Liberals. Nothing but a comfortable Labor victory here.