The battle for Bendigo East appears to be heating up after Labor’s new candidate took a swipe at his main rival.
Tim Rickwood spoke exclusively to Gold Central Victoria earlier this week, after being publicly revealed as the party’s pick to succeed outgoing MP Jacinta Allan.
Asked whether he was confident about his chances, given the Nationals’ contender Andrew Lethlean is favoured to claim the seat at the state election, Rickwood responded by saying the following:
“I’m not too focus on polls; I know he’s [Lethlean] got a lot of signs out there, but maybe not so much substance, so what I’m doing is I’m just getting out there, talking to locals every single day.”
Our newsroom gave Mr Lethlean a right of reply to that comment, with this being his response:
“I don’t even know Tim Rickwood, and he doesn’t know me, so I think it’s a little bit offensive to say I’ve got no substance… Maybe you should know someone and know their history and know a little bit about them before you make comments like that.”
The conversation with Mr Rickwood was otherwise civil, as he outlined education and health as his priorities and expressed his desire to run a “really positive campaign”.
“There’s a bit of fear-mongering and negativity going on, but every day I’ve been out there already – I’ve been talking to some wonderful people of all ages, and I’m trying to spread a positive message around our community and what we’ve achieved here, and what we can continue to do,” Mr Rickwood said.
Meantime, Mr Lethlean says his focus is not on polls but “the people of Bendigo”.
“I don’t look at polls, I don’t look at bookies and so on; I think the main thing is I’ve put my hand up ‘cause I’m sick and tired of the… direction of both state and federal governments.”
The Victorian election takes place on November 28th.
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