Andrew Lethlean

His campaign page names cost of living as a top concern in blunt, general terms: "The cost of living keeps rising," paired with pledges for "Lower inflation – a stronger economy" and "Cheaper energy," with no dollar figures or mechanism specified.

On accepting the Nationals' nomination, Lethlean cited cost-of-living pressure as part of his rationale for standing: "Families are struggling with cost-of-living pressures."

"Crime is making people feel unsafe" is listed as a named priority on his candidate page, framed as a top community concern without further specifics.

On entering the state race he said "crime in Bendigo is at an all-time high," citing it alongside cost of living as his core motivation for challenging the sitting Labor MP.

The Nationals' current statewide platform (not confirmed as Lethlean's own words) pledges "3,000 new police officers," a "Break Bail, Face Jail" policy for bail violators, and a $100 million Safer Communities Plan funding youth-diversion programs called Restart and Youthstart.

"Affordable homes" is listed as a named priority on his campaign page, addressing regional housing accessibility, without further detail on how this would be delivered.

The Nationals' current statewide platform (party-level, not confirmed as personally restated by Lethlean) pledges to eliminate stamp duty for first-home buyers on purchases up to $1 million and to restore the land-tax threshold to $300,000.

His campaign page frames his 24-year business-ownership background as fiscal credibility, criticising the state government for "waste, corruption" and positioning him as "a straight talker who will fight for this community."

The Nationals' current statewide platform (party-level only) commits to a 10-year economic plan to return Victoria to surplus and repay debt, an executive salary cap projected to save "$20 million" by 2036, and a 2.5-year hiring freeze on non-frontline back-office roles.

"We look at Bendigo, it is a hugely growing community so the main thing is infrastructure projects, traffic in and out of the town," Lethlean said, nominating intersections and "roundabouts" as priorities alongside schools and health services.

He said the Nationals' "policy now is to get 25 per cent of the investment into the regions," directly linking Bendigo's infrastructure needs to the party's proportional regional-funding pledge.

Statewide, the Nationals' current platform commits "$5 billion" to road maintenance over four years (a "25 per cent increase" on current spending) aiming to eliminate "one million potholes," and would pause and independently review the Suburban Rail Loop.

"Better schools" and education generally are listed among his named priorities on his campaign page, with no further elaboration found in sources reviewed.

The Nationals' current statewide platform (party-level, not confirmed as his own words) sets a literacy/numeracy target of 15 per cent improvement over ten years.

It also pledges to embed occupational therapists and speech pathologists in prep classrooms from Term 1, 2028, alongside a $500 subsidy toward specialist appointments.

Lethlean's social media pledged "quality healthcare, with more hospitals closer to home," alongside "better schools" and "safer roads."

When the Bendigo Advertiser pressed him on specifics, he clarified: "To be straight with you, we're not promising to build a new hospital in Bendigo East," noting the existing Bendigo Health campus "serves the whole region east and west."

The Advertiser characterised this as the Nationals walking back an implied hospital-building commitment once pressed for detail, contrasting it with the state government's position that it had already "funded, built and opened" Bendigo Hospital.

No personal comment from Lethlean on energy policy was found. The Nationals' current statewide platform commits to an "Energy Security Requirement" of competitive tenders for firm generation ahead of the Yallourn power station's 2028 closure.

It also pledges a statewide gas-exploration tender within 60 days of taking office, and restoring a 2km wind-turbine buffer from homes.

The same platform pledges to scrap the VNI West transmission project and conduct a full review of the Victorian Transmission Plan, including the Western Renewables Link.

No personal comment from Lethlean on the Statewide Treaty or Gellung Warl was found in any source reviewed. The Nationals' current statewide platform pledges to abolish the Treaty within its first 100 days in office, citing projected savings of roughly "$1 billion" over a decade.

The same platform would replace existing First Nations Victoria arrangements with a standalone service-delivery agency focused on Closing the Gap targets — again party-level only, not confirmed as Lethlean's personal position.

On Jacinta Allan's retirement, Lethlean said it "did not change anything" for his campaign, and criticised the outgoing government's record: "We have missed out; we had a city-centric government and Jacinta Allan was leading that city-centric government."

He framed regional under-investment as his core rationale for running, stating "our policy now is to get 25 per cent of the investment into the regions," tying Bendigo's fortunes to the Nationals' statewide funding-share pledge.

On growth pressures specifically, he said "we look at Bendigo, it is a hugely growing community," nominating intersections, "roundabouts," and traffic flow "in and out of the town" as priorities.

The Nationals' current "Fair Share Guarantee" locks in "at least 25 per cent of all new government infrastructure investment" for regional Victoria, matching its population share against a figure the platform describes as closer to "12 per cent" under current funding.