SWAN Hill Mayor Jade Benham has vowed to “keep delivering” for the local community until she is forced to step down from the top job later this year.
Cr Benham revealed plans on Friday to contest the state election in the marginal seat of Mildura, held by independent MP Ali Cupper.
In an exclusive interview with The Guardian, Cr Benham said she had nominated last week for preselection as The Nationals’ candidate in the seat of Mildura at the November poll.
According to party sources, the 42-year-old mother of two is a “shoo-in” for preselection in the coming weeks.
Cr Benham said she would remain as Swan Hill mayor until writs are served about a month before the election.
“I still have a job to do at Swan Hill – and it’s a big job,” the Robinvale-based councillor said.
She said she was confident her mayoral role “won’t be compromised” by her campaigning for the Mildura seat.
“It’ll be a balancing act, but there’s a really good framework and guidelines in place with the (Municipal Association of Victoria) for me to refer to,” Cr Benham said.
“And there won’t be a conflict (of interest), because Swan Hill and Mildura are geographically separate (local government areas).”
Flanked by Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh on Friday, Cr Benham gave an insight into her “anger” at the Andrews Government that led to her putting her hand up for a shot at state politics.
“First, I’m not one to sit back and grizzle about things if I’m not prepared to do something about it, which is why I ran for council in the first place,” she said.
“Then, over the last two years, I’ve felt that as a regional Victorian, I haven’t mattered (to the State Labor Government).
“During the daily COVID updates, regional Victoria was being addressed as Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong. There was no mention of rural Victoria, which includes the greater north-west.
“Being left feeling that I don’t matter, and my family doesn’t matter, made me angry and I believe there needs to be a louder voice representing this region.
“It needs to be played from a team perspective, rather than an individual voice.”
Cr Benham gave a damning assessment of Ms Cupper’s performance since the independent unseated The Nationals’ Peter Crisp in 2018, winning by a mere 254 votes.
“I’m not going to get into a mud-slinging match, but let me give you a broad assessment: independent politics doesn’t work unless you’ve got a hung parliament,” she said.
“So it doesn’t work at the moment with Labor’s big majority.
“I’ve always been a team player and you need a team around you to be most effective.”
She cited Ms Cupper’s failed alliance with Fiona Patten’s Reason Party last year as an example of “policy on the run”.
“People need to be safe in the knowledge of who they are voting for on day one is the same person two or three years down the track,” Cr Benham said.
“Pivoting, or that changing of position, has really affected her performance. She has flip-flopped – and it’s indicative that she has difficulty reading the room.
“I’ve had community members in both Mildura and Robinvale who voted for her at the last election come to me and ask that I run against her.
“These people have told me, ‘We voted for her last time because we wanted to give the National Party a wake-up call. We didn’t think it would actually work and now we feel bad’. And you can quote me on that.”
After her take-down of Ms Cupper, she focused on policy.
She said the key election issues would include regional jobs, housing affordability, health services and “bringing some more major industries to north-west Victoria”.
“We have a rapidly growing population in north-west Victoria and infrastructure needs to be keeping pace with it,” she said.
Leader ‘threw me a dim sim’
JADE Benham and Peter Walsh lifted the lid last week on how the Swan Hill mayor was poached for a shot at state politics.
It goes back to late 2020 when the Victorian Nationals leader “threw out the bait” to Cr Benham.
“If I was a Murray cod, he threw me a dim sim,” Cr Benham said with a smile.
“As it turned out, it was probably the easiest phone call he’s ever made.
“By that stage, I was seething about how badly north-west Victoria was being treated by the Andrews Government with lockdown after lockdown and not having any (COVID) cases up here.
“So when Peter threw out the dim sim, I swallowed it whole.”
Mr Walsh believes that the 42-year-old mayor has a “bigger calling” in state politics.
“Jade is a powerful advocate for her communities. She’s already proven it as a Swan Hill councillor and she’ll do it in the seat of Mildura,” the Murray Plains MP said.
Asked why The Nationals were still relevant in regional and rural Victoria, Cr Benham said: “The National Party had a wake-up call (at the last state election) and things have changed in the party since then,” she said.
“We still focus on what’s important in the regions, but it’s a more dynamic party and there are more young females involved.
“Some, including (35-year-old mother) Steph Ryan, have become MPs.
“This is the most relatable party for me. It’s different to the National Party I saw with my grandfather.”
Mr Walsh said membership in the party had broadened since 2018, with more female members.
