Liberal candidate quits after race row

THE Liberal Party is scrambling to find a new candidate for a key country seat after the original contender quit amid a race row.

THE Liberal Party is scrambling to find a new candidate for a key country seat after the original contender quit amid a race row.

The upheaval comes just days before the start of the election campaign.

Mike Laker, who was running for the seat of Seymour, got busted by a Melbourne radio station spreading rumours the Victorian Labor government was going to house 50 Somali families at a new housing estate in the electorate and give them free cars.

In a uncomfortable interview a week ago, Mr Laker admitted to radio station MTR that he had been discussing "rumours" that the government was putting aside the homes in a new estate called Wallan Waters for Somali families, after initially denying any knowledge of it. A talkback caller alerted the station to the claims.

"It's come out of my lips, yes, and it's been talked about," Mr Laker said. "I've heard a rumour, kind of, from local townspeople, that it's going to be used for refugees or Somalis."

The seat of Seymour is held by Labor MP Ben Hardman by 6.7 per cent and has most of the Black Saturday-affected towns in its electoral boundaries.

Given the opposition has campaigned heavily on the problems facing the communities rebuilding after the bushfires, it was potentially a seat it could have won.

The party has until November 11 -- when nominations close -- to pick a candidate and is in discussions with up to three people to replace Mr Laker, who quit on Saturday.

Insiders say there was pressure from the grassroots for Mr Laker to go after the negative publicity and the recriminations in the community after getting into an on-air fight with the local who accused him of spreading the rumour.

But Liberal headquarters has denied it pushed him, saying it was a decision made by Mr Laker after consulting his family.

They say Mr Laker's race-row experience made him realise the amount of criticism he would be under from the media if he continued as a candidate.

Mr Laker is no stranger to the media, with the then public servant alleging in 2002 the Department of Premier and Cabinet had set up a slush fund for political advertising.

At the time of claiming to be a "whistleblower", he failed to reveal he was a member of the Liberal Party. Also in that year, the former government communications manager was also investigated for improper conduct.

Two years later, he popped up in the media again, this time alleging the government had sacked the head of Seymour Technical High School because he was a Liberal Party member. Mr Laker was school council president at the time and a Liberal Party member.

Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said he did not believe Mr Laker's resignation stemmed from the race row and denied he was disendorsed.

"It is a personal decision made on personal issues. He has made that decision with his family."