Legislative Assembly · District of Lowan
Andrew Partridge
Last verified 11 Oct 2026
Seat context — Lowan›
Lowan is the state's largest electorate by area (about 41,858 square kilometres) in Victoria's west, covering Horsham, Hamilton, Casterton, Dimboola, Nhill, Kaniva, Coleraine, Dartmoor, Jeparit and Rainbow, with 51,182 registered electors at the 2022 election. It is one of the safest Nationals-held seats in the state: sitting MP Emma Kealy won 59.0% of first preferences and 71.6% two-party-preferred against Labor in 2022. As of late September 2026 The Tally Room lists only Kealy and Family First's Lee Ann Elms, while the Greens' Jeff Moran has a party candidate page. A former Horsham councillor, Claudia Haenel, was reported in July 2026 as likely to be Labor's candidate but was not confirmed, and no Liberal candidate has been identified.
Background
Describes himself as having more than 35 years in the sheep and wool industry, "from the shearing shed to export markets." SSelf-stated — ON-PARTRIDGEOne Nation Victoria, "Andrew Partridge for Lowan"View source
No current employer or business name is given in the sources reviewed. SSelf-stated — ON-PARTRIDGEOne Nation Victoria, "Andrew Partridge for Lowan"View source
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Describes his priorities as "lower living costs, less red tape and a real voice for regional Victoria."
No separate policy page, interview or campaign launch material in his own words was found.
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
Says he is "fighting for lower living costs" — a general statement with no mechanism attached.
Party platform (One Nation Victoria policy booklet), not a candidate-specific statement: wind back land tax increases on rental properties and small property owners, lift the payroll tax threshold, and abolish the 10 per cent stamp duty on home, contents and car insurance.
The same booklet proposes scrapping all net-zero targets and subsidies, and reversing the ban on gas connections in new homes, as power-bill measures.
Crime and community safety
No statement by Partridge on crime found. Party platform (One Nation Victoria policy booklet), not a candidate-specific statement: a 24/7 Bail Court, a presumption against bail for repeat offenders, mandatory electronic monitoring for serious-offence bail, a ninety-day charge-to-trial clock for serious violent charges, and mandatory minimum sentences for assaults on police and emergency workers.
The booklet would also lower the age of criminal responsibility back to 10, sentence children charged with serious violent offences as adults, and trial legal access to pepper spray for personal protection.
Housing affordability and supply
No statement by Partridge on housing found. Party platform (One Nation Victoria policy booklet), not a candidate-specific statement: review government fees and charges on new homes, release under-used government land, put legal clocks on planning and building approvals, free up granny flats and spare-room rentals, and raise the foreign purchaser duty.
The booklet attributes rising rents partly to net overseas migration and to land tax increases passed through to tenants.
State government debt and fiscal management
No statement by Partridge on debt found. Party platform (One Nation Victoria policy booklet), not a candidate-specific statement: describes Victoria as carrying the highest state debt in the country, and proposes cancelling the Suburban Rail Loop, cutting executive-level public service roles while protecting frontline staff, sunset reviews of public agencies, and a YourMoney.vic.gov.au spending-transparency site.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
No statement by Partridge on infrastructure found. Party platform (One Nation Victoria policy booklet), not a candidate-specific statement: cancel the Suburban Rail Loop, finish regional freight and commuter track duplication, support completion of Inland Rail, electrify the Melton line and complete the Airport Rail Link.
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
No statement by Partridge on education found. Party platform (One Nation Victoria policy booklet), not a candidate-specific statement: replace the Victorian Curriculum with a knowledge-rich syllabus, systematic phonics, expanded trade schools, and school vouchers so funding follows the student.
Health and healthcare access
No statement by Partridge on health found. Party platform (One Nation Victoria policy booklet), not a candidate-specific statement: a regional healthcare guarantee (24/7 emergency departments and core maternity and surgical capacity in major regional hospitals), a statewide real-time waiting-list view, and interoperable electronic medical records.
Urban planning and housing density
No statement by Partridge on planning found. Party platform (One Nation Victoria policy booklet), not a candidate-specific statement: require genuine community consultation before high-rise development is imposed on established suburbs, and a legal decision clock on planning approvals.
Climate and energy transition
No statement by Partridge on energy found. Party platform (One Nation Victoria policy booklet), not a candidate-specific statement: scrap all net-zero targets and subsidies, cancel VNI West and the Western Renewables Link, support upgrading coal power infrastructure, and repeal Victoria's nuclear ban (Nuclear Activities (Prohibitions) Act 1983).
The booklet also proposes banning industrial solar, wind, battery and transmission projects on irrigated, flood-prone, bushfire-prone or water-catchment land, and disbanding the Western Renewable Energy Zone.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
No statement by Partridge on Treaty found. Party platform (One Nation Victoria policy booklet), not a candidate-specific statement: scrap the Statewide Treaty entirely, abolish Gellung Warl and end its legislated funding, which the booklet puts at roughly $70 million a year.
Regional and rural Victoria
Says he is fighting for "a real voice for regional Victoria" and "less red tape" — general statements with no detail.
Party platform (One Nation Victoria policy booklet), not a candidate-specific statement: fund a regional road maintenance backlog with a public Pothole Portal, restrict water trading to farmers with land to irrigate, reinstate a 1,500 gigalitre cap on buybacks, and a "two out, one in" red-tape rule.
The booklet also covers a selective-harvest timber rebuild, a local-wood-first procurement policy, and a duck-hunting protection pledge.
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.
No Lowan-specific policy statement by Partridge or the party was found. The booklet's most seat-relevant themes are farmland protection from industrial energy and transmission projects, regional road maintenance and water allocation. SSelf-stated — ON-BOOKLETOne Nation Victoria, "The Real Deal: One Nation's Policy Platform (Victorian policy booklet, October 2026)" (2026-10)View source
Local reporting in May 2026 said One Nation had Lowan and Ripon "in its sights" for the November election. RReported — WVN-ONSIGHTSWimmera/West Vic News, "One Nation eyes Lowan and Ripon" (10 May 2026)View source
Candidate-specific material is limited to three stated themes (living costs, red tape, regional voice), all consistent with the One Nation Victoria platform. No point of divergence from the party line was found. SSelf-stated — ON-PARTRIDGE, ON-BOOKLETOne Nation Victoria, "Andrew Partridge for Lowan"View sourceOne Nation Victoria, "The Real Deal: One Nation's Policy Platform (Victorian policy booklet, October 2026)" (2026-10)View source
The booklet is the party's statewide policy platform, led by Victorian leader Warren Pickering. Partridge's page links to it as "The Real Deal." VVerified — ON-BOOKLETOne Nation Victoria, "The Real Deal: One Nation's Policy Platform (Victorian policy booklet, October 2026)" (2026-10)View source
Track record & prior candidacies
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Under the Electoral Act 2002, a candidate is eligible for public funding if they receive at least 4% of first-preference votes in their contest, or are elected. Funding is based on the number of first-preference votes and requires an audited statement of electoral expenditure; for a party-endorsed candidate it is paid to the registered political party (per the VEC's funding guidance for registered political parties and independent candidates, accessed 2026-10-11).
The VEC's party funding page notes the rules are under review following the Electoral Further Amendment Bill 2026, so rates and conditions should be checked against current VEC guidance.