He was one of the founders of Victoria's People's Party and served a single term in the House of Representatives from 1913 to 1914.

He and his parents moved to the Mallee region of Victoria two years later, settling on a 2,000-acre (810 ha) property located 6 miles (9.7 km) outside of Warracknabeal.

[1] Bennett was one of the co-founders of the People's Party in 1910, serving as the inaugural honorary secretary.

[1] In July 1912, he was selected as the endorsed candidate of the People's Party and the Australian Women's National League (AWNL) for the Division of Gippsland.

[6] He defeated the incumbent independent member George Wise at the 1913 federal election on a swing of 12.7 points.