Federal election 2024: Coalition picks candidates in Indi and Bendigo

Ex-Indigo mayor James Trenery will run as Liberal candidate against independent MP Helen Haines in Indi. See who else is firming for an election run.

Coalition contenders for the upcoming federal election are being confirmed as major and minor parties prepare for an early national poll.

Former Indigo Shire mayor James Trenery won Liberal preselection for Indi over the weekend, pitting him against independent MP Helen Haines in the northeast Victorian constituency.

Once a Liberal stronghold held by veteran MPs Ewan Cameron and Lou Lieberman, the electorate is now considered a safe seat for Dr Haines, with a two-party preferred margin of more than 7 per cent in the independent MP’s favour.

Following his success at the Benalla preselection ballot over the weekend, Mr Trenery told Liberal Party members that cheaper energy would be a key issue at the next poll, due before May 2025.

“If elected, I will be at the table fighting to protect and preserve our greatest local resource, Indi’s prime agricultural farmland,” Mr Trenery said.

“Under Labor, the cost of energy is going up, and people are finding it tougher than ever.”

Indi was last held by the Liberal Party under Sophie Mirabella, who lost the seat to independent MP Cathy McGowan at the 2013 federal election.

Meanwhile, the National Party preselected small businessman Andrew Lethlean to run as their flag-bearer in the Bendigo electorate.

Labor MP Lisa Chesters holds the Bendigo constituency on a two-party preferred margin of more than 12 per cent, meaning its highly likely to stay in the ALP column.

“Families across the goldfields region are struggling with cost of living pressures and we need a stronger voice in federal parliament to make sure our concerns are being heard.

“The Bendigo region deserves better than being taken for granted by the Labor Party as a so-called safe seat.”

The last National Party candidate to run in Bendigo, Andy Maddison, received a primary vote of 3.6 per cent and the Coalition have not held the federal constituency since Bruce Reid’s 1990-98 tenure.