Nervous Libs ploan speedy preselection for Julia Banks’s seat

A decision on who will contest Julia Banks’s seat of Chisholm could be made in just a week.

Julia Banks will not recontest the seat of Chilsholm. Picture. David Geraghty

A decision on who will contest Julia Banks’s seat of Chisholm could be made in just a week as Victorian Liberals scramble to fill the position in the marginal seat to be vacated by the Turnbull ally.

Federal Liberal president Nick Greiner met with Victorian director Nick Demiris yesterday afternoon to discuss last week’s events in Canberra and the upcoming state election campaign, as party officials made final preparations to open nominations for Chisholm today.

Former senator and candidate for Bruce Helen Kroger ruled out a tilt at the seat but told The Australian it should be filled by a woman.

Even then, they were likely to have a “jolly tough time” keeping hold of it, she said.

The high-profile party member yesterday hosed down claims of bullying against women in the party and said it was vital that party officials filled the Chisholm vacancy with another woman who could communicate well on cost-of-living issues and education.

“I’ll be frank in saying it would be a difficult seat for us to hold, but a woman would be fantastic because essentially (voters’) main concerns are cost of living, education and giving their families the best they can, and a local woman candidate would be sensational in that respect,” Ms Kroger said.

When asked whether the party could still win the seat, she said she was ­optimistic. “Yes, I do. I think anything is possible,” she said.

“A lot of water goes under the bridge before an election is called and the campaign starts.

“And I do think we can hold it, I do think it will be jolly hard, but if the candidate is dedicated and works full-time on the campaign and getting elected, I think we can pull it off.”

Victorian Liberal Party officials will open the seat for nominations today after a circular resolution was sent around state administrative committee members on Wednesday afternoon, after Ms Banks announced her decision not to recontest the seat.

While some members contacted The Australian to voice support for Ms Kroger, other names to emerge as possibilities for the seat included Monash councillor Theo Zographos, one-time party presidential hopeful and energy executive Greg Hannan, and Melbourne City councillor and management consultant Philip Liu.

Former Alan Tudge staffer Andrew Asten is also understood to be in play when nominations open.

Within the party’s head office, officials are preparing themselves for a potentially lightning-fast preselection, with some officials indicating a decision on the candidate could be made at a state administrative committee meeting scheduled for next Thursday.

The timing of the preselection, which comes within 12 weeks of the state election on November 24, is not ideal, according to party officials, who are concerned that any drawn-out preselection process could distract or divert resources needed for the state campaign.

“We’ve got to make sure that none of the crucial dates coincide with the state campaign.

“There are a lot of moving ­pieces,” one party official told The Australian.

Officials made a controversial decision earlier this month to “call in” or hand control of pres­elections to the state adminis­trative committee, which has angered some branch members who complain that they have been locked out.