Charles Richardson writes:


The Victorian Liberal Party continues its preparations for next year’s state election. There were no new preselections last weekend, but inaugural meetings were held of the electorate councils for several of the new Legislative Council regions.

Reports are that the opposition forces in the party, the anti-Kroger group once associated with former premier Jeff Kennett, have made something of a comeback. In Southern Metropolitan region their candidate, Daryl Williams, was elected chairman of the electorate council, while in Eastern Metropolitan, where the chairman was elected unopposed, anti-Kroger candidates secured both of the vice-chairman positions.

As usual, things are actually a bit more complicated. In Southern Metro the wild card was former MP Inga Peulich, whose supporters ran a ticket for the electorate council and were comprehensively beaten. Peulich is aiming for the (barely) winnable third spot on the ticket behind sitting MLCs David Davis and Andrea Coote, and is counting on the support of the Kroger-Costello group. The weekend’s result suggests that may be in some doubt.

In Eastern Metro, where the third position will be a very long shot, the factional situation is much more murky – “balkanised” was the word that one source used. But it looks as if the anti-Kroger group have put together a coalition to keep their sitting MLC, Richard Dalla-Riva, in one of the top two spots, leaving challenger Ron Wilson to fight it out with the other sitting members, Bruce Atkinson and Andrew Olexander.

Last time I wrote about the Victorian Liberal Party, Peter Costello’s office upbraided me for referring to “the Costello forces,” saying that the Treasurer doesn’t interfere in state preselections. If anything, these latest developments confirm that view. It looks as if the ruling group are so focused on the Costello-for-PM campaign that when it comes to state matters they have taken their eye off the ball.