Liberal Party faces backlash in marginal Pakenham seat

The Liberal Party is facing internal backlash in the marginal seat of Pakenham ahead of November’s state election. Local members have expressed an unwillingness to volunteer for the upcoming campaign after the party’s state executive bypassed grassroots members to select Radmila Dyson as the candidate.

Pakenham, located in Melbourne’s outer south-east, is a critical battleground currently held by the Labor Party with a narrow margin of 0.39 per cent. The incumbent Labor MP, Emma Vulin, will not recontest the seat following a diagnosis of motor neurone disease. Labor has selected Alessandra Soliven to run in her place.

The contest is further complicated by One Nation’s Victorian leader, Warren Pickering, who is also vying for the seat. The Liberal Party's decision to intervene in the preselection process occurred after the state executive invoked a rule to bypass local members, following a situation where fewer than 40 members registered to vote.