'There's a lot at risk': Maree Edwards latest Bendigo Labor woman to quit

With less than three months until the Victorian election, the resignation of another long-time Labor MP has left voters in the regional city of Bendigo without an ALP candidate to choose from. On Thursday, the member for Bendigo West, Maree Edwards announced she would not re-contest the seat at the November election, after almost 16 years in parliament. She was the first woman to hold the seat and the fourth woman to hold the position of speaker of the Legislative Assembly."I do think we can hold both Bendigo East and Bendigo West and we will have candidates in place very quickly," Ms Edwards told ABC Central Victoria."And we will be extremely competitive, there's a lot at risk."This month, her colleague and close Labor ally, Bendigo East MP Jacinta Allan announced she was leaving politics, after standing down as Victorian premier to make way for challenger Ben Carroll.Ms Edwards said she had been considering retiring "for a very long time", following the death of her husband Steve Kolotylo last year, but that the leadership change had delayed her plans."Obviously I might have made this decision sooner if there hadn't been some changes within the government over the last few weeks, and it's simply a timing thing," he said.She went on to deny that the decision to resign was motivated by the change of leadership."That's absolutely not true, I think anyone who knows me knows that I don't tend to run around making claims about different members of parliament."Maree Edwards was the first woman to hold the seat of Bendigo West. (Supplied: Facebook)Leaving a 'crucial' seat behindThis month, Victorian Nationals leader Danny O'Brien announced volunteer firefighter and emergency responder David Hutchings as a candidate in the seat of Bendigo West, the party's first in 16 years.Publican Andrew Lethlean is contesting Bendigo East and has been campaigning for months, after narrowing Labor's margin in the federal seat of Bendigo at the last federal election. Professor of politics at Monash University Zareh Ghazarian said the seats of Bendigo East and Bendigo West would be a "crucial" decider at the election."These are the seats to keep a watch on, they can be essentially the litmus test for how Victoria's feeling — especially in rural, regional parts of Victoria," he said."One of the challenges that Labor has at this election is to demonstrate that it is not just a party of Melbourne."And I think because of that, Bendigo West as well as Bendigo East, is going to be really crucial to determining the success or otherwise of Labor's electoral fortune."He says while Bendigo West has been a safe Labor seat for about 30 years, losing Maree Edwards this close to the election could harm Labor's chances."Three months out from election isn't much," Professor Ghazarian said."So the person Labor will select will have a very limited amount of time not just to establish themselves as the Labor party candidate but also to introduce themselves as well as their ideas and their aspirations for the local community."This is pretty difficult."Maree Edwards and Jacinta Allan celebrating a Labor victory at the 2018 state election. (Supplied: Facebook)In a statement, Premier Ben Carroll said Ms Edwards had served with "integrity, humility and care"."The truest measure of any speaker is the respect they earn across the whole chamber, particularly from those whose politics they do not share," he said. "Maree has more than earned that respect."In a post to social media, former premier Jacinta Allan praised the legacy of her colleague."I was blessed to have Maree as a friend with whom I could share the joys and challenges of life as a Member of Parliament and many laughs along the way," Ms Allan said."When the township of Harcourt was ravaged by deadly and devastating fire in January of this year, Maree worked tirelessly to support the community."Maree's work from the moment the fire emergency struck is a testament to her outstanding qualities as a human being caring for her community and fighting for what they need."The Victorian National Party has been contacted for comment.