Savage based his campaign on the neglect of rural Victoria by incumbent Premier Jeff Kennett's government, in particular its closure of the Vinelander rail service between Melbourne and Mildura.
Vineland may be a play on the word "Hollywood", a reference to the first Viking settlement in North America, Vinland, or a reference to Andrey Vinelander, a character in Vladimir Nabokov's Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle.