‘Yeah, nah’: why the Victorian Liberal party has taken an unusual step in the search for future MPs

With four MPs retiring at the next election, the Victorian Liberal party is facing ‘catastrophic’ consequences if it compromises on candidate quality, insiders say. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images

When the Victorian Liberal party’s state executive met last Thursday, just days before preselections closed in seats held by four retiring MPs, they looked at the list of candidates before them, underwhelmed.

“The view was, ‘yeah, nah’,” said one Liberal source, who requested anonymity to discuss internal party matters.