Victorian Libs split on running dead in some seats

The Victorian Liberals are headed for a showdown over whether to field candidates in every seat at the state election.

Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger. Picture: Ray Strange.

Victorian Liberals are headed for a showdown over whether to field candidates in every seat at the state election, with the party’s ­administrative committee split on whether it should run “dead” in some electorates to force Labor to square off against the Greens.

Liberals state director Nick Demiris has drawn up a list of several seats, including Pascoe Vale, Melbourne, Northcote, Brunswick and Richmond, where the party will consider not fielding candidates. Failing to field a candidate or running “dead” will force Labor to spend more in campaign costs, some members reason, while exposing Labor to a wedge on environmental and ­humanitarian issues.

The state administrative committee is torn on the proposal, with some members saying running “dead” will abandon Liberal supporters in marginal seats.

Changes to the state’s electoral laws to restrict party donations also complicate the decision. A new funding model hands parties $6 for every lower house vote received, which could pay the party almost $250,000 if it repeats its 2014 performance in the five seats.

Northcote and Melbourne are held by the Greens and are marginal to Labor, while Brunswick and Richmond are held by Labor but under threat from the Greens.

Pascoe Vale is a former Labor safe seat, but is under threat from independent Oscar Yildiz.

In each of the seats, Mr Demiris believes the party can inflict maximum pain on Labor by forcing it into a direct battle against the Greens and Mr Yildiz.

The Liberal Party scored ­almost 27 per cent of the primary vote in Pascoe Vale at the 2014 election, and 24 per cent in Melbourne, 21 per cent in Richmond and just over 16 per cent in both Northcote and Brunswick.

While some state administrative committee members believe it makes sense for the party to run in all five seats, others believe the party could strike a balance ­between putting candidates up and netting funding, while exerting maximum pain on Labor.

It costs about $8000 for the party to field a candidate in a lower house seat on a bare-bones campaign, a party source said.

Victorian president Michael Kroger said the state administrative committee would debate the issue next Wednesday, but dismissed the debate had anything to do with the party’s ­financial situation. “There’s no shortage of financial support,” he said.

The party is understood to have borrowed about $4 million to ­finance its state election campaign, taking total borrowings to just over $6m. The party expects to receive about $5m from the Victorian Electoral Commission, under the new rules.