Factional tensions in the Victorian Liberal Party have reignited over a failed attempt by a group of 'Young Turks'to oust an MP aligned with Opposition leader Matthew Guy. <\/p>\n
At a preselection battle for the rural seat of Narracan onSaturday, 65-year-old incumbentGary Blackwood fended off a challenge by 25-year-old rival Stephanie Ross, a conservative pro-lifecampaigner and the partner of controversial Liberal numbers man Marcus Bastiaan. <\/p>\n
The result is a victory for Mr Guy, who went to significant lengths to shore up support for Mr Blackwood including announcing plans, one week before today's contest, to build a new West Gippsland hospital should the Liberals win government at the next election. <\/p>\n
However, some view it as yet another failure by the Liberals to embrace the gender targets Mr Guy himself set last year, and a blow to the party's attempts to renew and regenerate ahead the 2018 Victorian election. <\/p>\n
\"This is a leadership issue for Matthew,\" said one senior figure. \"He set the terms, so if you can't meet them, that's a problem.\" <\/p>\n
Mr Blackwood is currently the oldest Liberal member in State Parliament and has spent most of the past 11years on the backbench. <\/p>\n
While Mr Bastiaan and his allies have long argued the parliamentary team needs fresh blood and firepower to combat Labor and the Andrews Government, Mr Guy said on Saturday:\"Gary Blackwood won Narracan in 2006 and has held it with a strong majority ever since. This result reflects his proven track record of delivering for his community.\" <\/p>\n
The battle for Narracanalso highlighted the ongoing culture war within the Victorian branchand fears that the Liberals are lurching too far to the right. <\/p>\n
While Mr Blackwood is regarded as a social conservative (he voted against the decriminalisation of abortion in 2008),MsRoss -a Catholic aligned with the Menzies branch of the Liberals controlled by conservativewarrior Kevin Andrews - is seen as too extreme by many in her party. This was highlighted last year afterFairfax Media revealed details of aninterview where she argued that women should never have abortions, even in the case of rape. <\/p>\n
Mr Bastiaan, meanwhile,has spent the past few months actively recruiting conservative church groups, Probus groups, and \"anyone that will listen\",exposing him to claims of alleged branch stacking. <\/p>\n
But both are polarising figures and,as revealed by The Age on Saturday, senior party officials are currently overseeing a confidential vetting committee into Mr Bastiaan's recruitment activities. <\/p>\n
Despite some Liberals assuming the preselection contest was going to be tight given Mr Bastiaan's reputation as a numbers man, Mr Blackwood ended up defeating Ms Ross 121 votes to 76. <\/p>\n
However, the internal angst isn't over yet, with another sitting MP Burwood Liberal Graham Watt also being challenged for preselection on Sunday by lawyer-turned-staffer Gideon Rozner. <\/p>\n
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State Liberal MP fends off preselection challenge by controversial pro-lifer - The Age<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Factional tensions in the Victorian Liberal Party have reignited over a failed attempt by a group of 'Young Turks'to oust an MP aligned with Opposition leader Matthew Guy. At a preselection battle for the rural seat of Narracan onSaturday, 65-year-old incumbentGary Blackwood fended off a challenge by 25-year-old rival Stephanie Ross, a conservative pro-lifecampaigner and the partner of controversial Liberal numbers man Marcus Bastiaan Continue reading