Electoral district of Bendigo West

Bendigo West is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. It is a 1,524 square kilometres (588 sq mi)[1] electorate centred on the city of Bendigo west of the Yungera railway line, and including surrounding rural towns to the west and south-west. It encompasses the localities of Bendigo City, California Gully, Castlemaine, Harcourt, Long Gully, Maldon, Marong, Newstead and West Bendigo. It also includes parts of the Bendigo suburbs of Eaglehawk, Golden Square and Kangaroo Flat. It lies within the Northern Victoria Region of the upper house, the Legislative Council.[1]

Bendigo West
Victoria—Legislative Assembly
Location of Bendigo West (dark green) in Victoria
StateVictoria
Dates current1904–1927, 1985–present
MPMaree Edwards
PartyLabor
Electors45,324 (2018)
Area1,524 km2 (588.4 sq mi)
DemographicUrbanised rural

Bendigo West has generally been a safe seat for the Labor parties throughout its history. It was created in 1904,[1] when it was won by Labor candidate David Smith by 18 votes.[2] Smith was re-elected several times, but was expelled from the party in 1911 over his support for introducing scripture lessons into state schools. He sat as an independent until the Labor Party split of 1917, when he joined Billy Hughes' rival National Labor Party, which subsequently became the Nationalist Party of Australia. Smith did not contest the 1924 election, and the seat returned to the Labor fold, being won by Arthur Cook. The seat was merged with Bendigo East in 1927, with Cook going on to serve as the member for Bendigo.

The electorate was recreated as a separate district in 1985, when it was won by former federal MP David Kennedy. Kennedy was defeated by Liberal Max Turner amidst the Liberal landslide win at the 1992 state election, but Turner lasted only one term before being defeated by Labor candidate Bob Cameron in 1996. Cameron was comfortably re-elected in 1999, 2002, and 2006, and left a margin of more than 10% for Maree Edwards to defend at the 2010 election. He served as Minister for Emergency Services in the Brumby government.

Members for Bendigo West
First incarnation (1904–1927)
MemberPartyTerm
  David Smith Labour 1904–1914
  Independent 1914–1916
  National Labor 1916–1917
  Nationalist 1917–1924
  Arthur Cook Labor 1924–1927
Second incarnation (1985–present)
MemberPartyTerm
  David Kennedy Labor 1985–1992
  Max Turner Liberal 1992–1996
  Bob Cameron Labor 1996–2010
  Maree Edwards Labor 2010–present

Election results
Main article: Electoral results for the district of Bendigo West
2018 Victorian state election: Bendigo West[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labor Maree Edwards 21,004 53.48 +5.62
Liberal Kevin Finn 10,641 27.09 −5.24
Greens Laurie Whelan 5,127 13.05 +1.30
Animal Justice Marilyn Nuske 2,504 6.38 +6.38
Total formal votes 39,276 95.06 −0.55
Informal votes 2,042 4.94 +0.55
Turnout 41,318 91.16 −2.67
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Maree Edwards 26,917 68.55 +6.37
Liberal Kevin Finn 12,349 31.45 −6.37
Labor hold Swing+6.37

References
  1. "Bendigo West district profile". Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  2. "BENDIGO WEST SEAT". The Ballarat Courier. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 2 December 1914. p. 5 Edition: Daily. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  3. State Election 2018: Bendigo West, VEC.
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