Legislative Assembly · District of Mildura
Jade Benham
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Mildura›
Mildura is a rural district in Victoria's far north-west, on the Murray River, roughly 550km from Melbourne, built around the Sunraysia irrigation region — one of the state's most valuable agricultural areas, producing the bulk of Victoria's grapes, almonds and citrus, worth close to $1 billion a year. The 2022 result was one of the tightest in the state: Benham won on a two-candidate-preferred basis by just 0.9%. Water security and the management of Mildura Base Hospital are recurring, genuinely local flashpoints.
Background
Mayor of Swan Hill Rural City Council, elected November 2021; took leave of absence in July 2022 to contest this seat. VVerified — WP-JBWikipedia, "Jade Benham"View source
Before politics, worked in media for around 13 years, including a role at a Global Digital Media Agency in the UK. VVerified — WP-JBWikipedia, "Jade Benham"View source
Born and completed secondary education in Swan Hill. VVerified — WP-JBWikipedia, "Jade Benham"View source
Register-of-interests disclosure shows she owns a rental property there. VVerified — WP-JBWikipedia, "Jade Benham"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.
Recent campaign messaging (May 2026) has focused on crime and policing (backing a Mildura Police Academy), state debt and budget accountability, and government integrity, including criticism of the government's major-projects cost overruns.
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
Opposes Labor's Emergency Services Tax, saying it burdens regional farmers, homeowners and businesses.
Crime and community safety
Has campaigned for a dedicated Mildura Police Academy.
Housing affordability and supply
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
State government debt and fiscal management
Has publicly challenged the state Treasurer over debt levels and budget management.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Says Mildura "deserves its fair share" of infrastructure investment, under the Nationals' Fair Share Guarantee to direct 25% of new state infrastructure spending to regional areas.
The Nationals propose a $5 billion road repair and rebuild plan; the release notes regional Victoria receives 12% of infrastructure funding with 25% of the population.
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
In an ongoing public dispute with predecessor Ali Cupper over the future management of Mildura Base Hospital; Benham has publicly questioned the case for continued public management.
Her office disputes the "double-speak" characterisation levelled at her, per the same report.
On 13 May 2026 she said regional Victorians face "less access to health care, less access to specialists, less access to sealed and safe roads and less access to timely treatment".
In the same statement she said Mildura Base Public Hospital staff had developed their own ~30-bed expansion project, with "shovels in the ground", rather than waiting for government funding.
On 31 July 2025 she said the hospital serves a catchment of about 75,000 people with 130 beds and 100 daily emergency attendances, asking: "We would not accept one police officer patrolling a city of 75,000, so why do we tolerate this in health care?"
The Nationals' Fair Share release commits $180 million to expand Mildura Base Public Hospital.
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
Campaigns on service access for regional communities, including access to Service Victoria.
Argues the Mildura electorate has been neglected, citing the Fair Share Guarantee and the 12% versus 25% funding gap.
In her May 2026 statement she linked health, specialists and sealed roads to regional disadvantage.
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.
National Party platform.
Benham's Hansard statements use the opposition's "less with Jess" framing of Jess Wilson's leadership, recast as less tax, less waste and less corruption. VVerified — HANSARD-BENHAM-130526Parliament of Victoria, "Hansard: Mildura electorate health services — 13 May 2026"View source
Her Fair Share release is issued through the Nationals' Victorian media page, so it reflects party policy as well as her own. SSelf-stated — NAT-FAIRSHAREThe Nationals Victoria, "Jade Benham MP — Mildura electorate deserves its Fair Share"View source
Track record & prior candidacies
One term as MP (since November 2022). VVerified — WP-JBWikipedia, "Jade Benham"View source
Mayor of Swan Hill Rural City Council, 2021–2022 (local government). VVerified — WP-JBWikipedia, "Jade Benham"View source
Raised Mildura Base Public Hospital's bed capacity and code-yellow incidents (three in June and July 2025) in Parliament. VVerified — HANSARD-BENHAM-310725Parliament of Victoria, "Hansard: Mildura Base Public Hospital — 31 July 2025"View source
Made a combative 13 May 2026 members' statement on regional health after the state budget. VVerified — HANSARD-BENHAM-130526Parliament of Victoria, "Hansard: Mildura electorate health services — 13 May 2026"View source
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Endorsed as the official Nationals candidate for Mildura — confirmed both by her own campaign site and by The Nationals Victoria's own media output, which brands her "Jade Benham MP — The Nationals" on every release. VVerified — WP-JB, NAT-VIC-MEDIAWikipedia, "Jade Benham"View sourceThe Nationals Victoria, "Jade Benham MP — The Nationals move to protect Victoria's agricultural land"View source
Targeted searches for endorsements beyond party affiliation — the Victorian Farmers Federation, regional water-security advocacy groups, the Mildura–Wentworth Chamber of Commerce and Industry, unions, and individual Coalition or crossbench politicians — found no organisation issuing a formal endorsement of her candidacy. RReported — SUN-COALITION, JB-COALITION-VISITSunraysia Daily, "Benham defends Coalition" (14 June 2026)View sourceJade Benham MP (campaign/office site), "Benham hosts Coalition leaders in Mildura"View source
She addressed the Mildura–Wentworth Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Economic Outlook breakfast in June 2026 and has appeared publicly alongside Coalition leaders Jess Wilson and Danny O'Brien on a regional visit, but neither of these is a reported organisational or leadership endorsement of her campaign specifically. RReported — SUN-COALITION, JB-COALITION-VISITSunraysia Daily, "Benham defends Coalition" (14 June 2026)View sourceJade Benham MP (campaign/office site), "Benham hosts Coalition leaders in Mildura"View source
Under the Electoral Act 2002, a candidate qualifies for public election funding if they receive at least 4% of first-preference votes in their district or are elected outright; payment is then calculated against audited campaign expenditure and the candidate's first-preference vote count, up to a legislated per-vote maximum that is indexed to CPI each 1 July.
Per the VEC's own indexation schedule, accessed 21 August 2026, the current Legislative Assembly rate for FY2026-27 — the year covering the 28 November 2026 election — is $7.70 per first-preference vote. As the sitting Nationals MP who won Mildura outright in 2022, Benham would be expected to clear the 4% threshold comfortably and qualify for funding at this rate on her 2026 first-preference count.
Dataset housekeeping
Source register
2 of 10 source register entries are missing a confirmed URL — flagged rather than hidden, per the same standard this page holds candidates to.