Victorian state election 2018: Frankston Liberal candidate Michael Lamb to the slaughter in awkward interview

Liberal candidate for Frankston Michael Lamb has sheepishly blundered his way through an interview about his party’s promise to build a new power station.

Liberal candidate for Frankston Michael Lamb has sheepishly blundered his way through an interview about his party’s promise to build a new power station.

Mr Lamb was quizzed by David Speers during what has been dubbed a “Clarke and Dawe” appearance on Sky News last night.

The two went “round in circles” as Mr Lamb tried to explain how the Coalition planned to tender for the private sector to build a new station and add 500MW of energy to the grid.

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Asked whether the private sector could currently build a new station, Mr Lamb said: “But they haven’t.”

Frankston Liberal candidate Michael Lamb. Picture: Jason Sammon

“So what will the government do?” Mr Speers asked.

“We will allow them to do it,” Mr Lamb said.

Pushed further on who would pay for the project, Mr Lamb said the private sector would foot the bill.

“And they’re allowed to do that now?” Mr Speers continued.

“Well, they’re not though, are they?”

“Why not?” Mr Speers asked.

“I don’t know,” Mr Lamb conceded before later admitting that some public money may have to be tipped into the project.

It is the second blunder to hit Mr Lamb’s campaign, after the former drug cop appeared with leader Matthew Guy at a local cafe whose owner had been convicted of cultivating illicit drugs.

Mr Lamb was criticised online for the “trainwreck” interview, with one person on Twitter calling for him to be given “the chop”.

.@Kieran_Gilbert: David Speers delivered one of his specials last night with a train wreck interview with Michael Lamb, the Liberal candidate for the seat of Frankston.

MORE: https://t.co/vMF1BfEI9c #amagenda pic.twitter.com/x8FHBW8ruL

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 21, 2018

To be fair, Michael Lamb's was the clearest and most accurate articulation of Coalition energy policy I've yet heard. #auspol #climate #climatechange https://t.co/t5KNNrELI9

— Andrew Buckwell (@adeepgreenheart) November 22, 2018

David Speers drilling Liberal candidate Michael Lamb in the most circular interview I've ever seen. Just wow #auspol https://t.co/CmwYJ4dPTC

— Amanda Copp (@AmandaCopp1) November 22, 2018

Oh dear this is Clarke and Dawe-esque https://t.co/OlxPCuy7co

— Jonathan Kearsley (@jekearsley) November 21, 2018

The Coalition last week promised, if elected on Saturday, to package government services such as rail, hospitals and other major services to go to tender.

Mr Guy said the package would pave the way for the private sector to build a new station, adding 500MW to the grid and cutting household bills by $350 a year.

He said the private sector was likely to propose a station involving a mix of generation, most likely gas and solar.

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