‘Second-class citizens’: Liberals refuse to campaign after preselection snub

The Liberal Party is facing a backlash from its members in the must-win seat of Pakenham, who say they are unwilling to volunteer in the upcoming election campaign after party chiefs sidelined them from handpicking their candidate. Pakenham, in Melbourne’s outer south-east, is currently held by Labor’s Emma Vulin by just 0. 39 per cent, making it one of the most marginal seats up for grabs at November’s state election.

Its status as a critical battleground has also been amplified by One Nation’s Victorian leader Warren Pickering also vying for the seat, as Pauline Hanson’s party seeks to capitalise on its surging popularity to win Victorian lower house seats for the first time. In 2022, Liberal candidate David Farrelly secured a swing of 1.