Legislative Assembly · District of Bendigo West
David Hutchings
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Bendigo West›
Bendigo West covers about 1,524 km² centred on the city of Bendigo, including Castlemaine, Maldon, Eaglehawk, Golden Square and Kangaroo Flat. It has been a safe Labor seat almost continuously since 1924, apart from a single Liberal term from 1992 to 1996. At the 2022 election, sitting Labor MP Maree Edwards won re-election with a two-party-preferred margin of 14.6% (64.6% to 35.4%) over the Liberal candidate. Edwards announced on 27–28 August 2026 that she will not recontest the seat in 2026, and Labor announced health policy professional Brenton Baldwin as its replacement candidate on 18 September 2026.
Background
A Lockwood South accountant and former business owner, per Bendigo Advertiser and ABC News. RReported — BA-HUTCHINGS, ABC-NATS-2026Bendigo Advertiser, "CFA volunteer David Hutchings announced as Nationals Bendigo West candidate"View sourceABC News, "Nationals 'fighting' to win Bendigo as Jacinta Allan exits politics"View source
No employer or firm is named, and his profession was not independently confirmed.
A CFA volunteer and emergency responder for nearly 30 years, having joined in 1998. RReported — BA-HUTCHINGSBendigo Advertiser, "CFA volunteer David Hutchings announced as Nationals Bendigo West candidate"View source
No council term, party office or public appointment was found.
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Campaigning on state debt, roads, crime and cost-of-living pressures, per Bendigo Advertiser.
Argues Bendigo West has been taken for granted by Labor.
Wants regular, frequent and predictable public transport and safer major roads.
What Victorians say matters most
5 poll-led issuesCost of living and crime have ranked 1st or 2nd in every Victorian poll since mid‑2025, with debt and housing close behind — see schema §3 for the polling this grouping is based on (DemosAU, Ipsos Issues Monitor, Roy Morgan). The 0-10 'priorityScore' on each candidate's issue entries is NOT a measure of true importance or an independent ranking of what a candidate actually cares about. It reflects how much detail and specificity exists in what that candidate has actually said publicly on that issue -- a named policy mechanism and a verified voting record score higher than a one-line stated priority, regardless of the issue's real-world weight. Render this distinction in the UI wherever the score appears; do not label it just 'Priority' without the qualifier.
Cost of living
Names cost-of-living pressures as a campaign focus, without a specific measure.
Crime and community safety
Names crime as a campaign focus, without a specific measure.
Housing affordability and supply
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
State government debt and fiscal management
Names state debt as a campaign focus; as an accountant and former business owner he frames it on that experience, but no specific debt position is quoted.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Highlighted the dangerous Fogartys Gap Road intersection with the Calder Freeway, which he says has claimed lives.
Said "public transport needs to be regular, it needs to be frequent, it needs to be predictable".
Wants heavy truck traffic rerouted around Marong rather than through residential streets.
Also on the record
6 substance issuesThese don't top “biggest issue” polling, but carry real 2026 policy weight and genuine differences between parties.
Education and training
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Health and healthcare access
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Regional and rural Victoria
The Nationals' platform pledges "to get 25 per cent of the investment into the regions", per ABC News.
As a CFA volunteer of nearly 30 years, he supports fleet upgrades, contrasting modern trucks at Golden Square with older single-cab tankers elsewhere.
It is the first time the Nationals have run in the seat in 16 years.
Local & party context
2 fieldsNot scored the way the eleven issues above are — these are fixed facts about the seat and the party, not positions with more or less emphasis behind them.
The Fogartys Gap Road and Calder Freeway intersection. RReported — BA-HUTCHINGSBendigo Advertiser, "CFA volunteer David Hutchings announced as Nationals Bendigo West candidate"View source
Heavy trucks through Marong. RReported — BA-HUTCHINGSBendigo Advertiser, "CFA volunteer David Hutchings announced as Nationals Bendigo West candidate"View source
CFA fleet upgrades, including older single-cab tankers at some brigades. RReported — BA-HUTCHINGSBendigo Advertiser, "CFA volunteer David Hutchings announced as Nationals Bendigo West candidate"View source
Hutchings campaigns on the Nationals' regional-investment theme, and visited Maldon with Nationals MP Gaelle Broad in September 2026. RReported — ABC-NATS-2026, TT-HUTCHINGSABC News, "Nationals 'fighting' to win Bendigo as Jacinta Allan exits politics"View sourceTarrangower Times, "Hutchings on the Hustings"View source
No point of divergence was found. Nationals policy detail on housing, health, education and energy could not be retrieved, so those issues are left empty rather than filled with unattributed figures.
Track record & prior candidacies
He is not among the candidates in the 2018 or 2022 Bendigo West results; the Nationals did not field a candidate in 2022. VVerified — WIKI-BWEST-RESULTSWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Bendigo West"View source
No earlier campaign was mentioned, so this appears to be his first.
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Per the Victorian Electoral Commission's funding guidance (vec.vic.gov.au, accessed 2026-09-29 via search snippets of its independent-candidate and registered-party funding pages), a candidate is eligible for public election funding if they receive at least 4% of first-preference votes in their contest, or are elected. Funding is reimbursed against an audited statement of campaign expenditure, and advance funding must be repaid in full if the threshold is missed.
Hutchings has not previously contested an election, and the Nationals did not stand in Bendigo West in 2022, so he has no funding entitlement from an earlier contest.