Victorian Liberals dump their Williamstown candidate over comments about Indigenous Australians, 17 days before the vote

The Victorian Liberal Party dropped its candidate for Williamstown, Paul Lindemann, on Wednesday evening, a little over two weeks before the state election.

In a statement released about 7.20pm AEDT (4.20pm AWST), the party said it had withdrawn its support and endorsement of Mr Lindemann over views about Indigenous Australians “which had recently come to light”. It said it had not known about the comments before.

“These comments are offensive, unacceptable and inconsistent with the values and standards expected of Liberal candidates,” the statement said. It added that all candidates were expected to treat Australians with dignity and respect.

How did it come to this?

Mr Lindemann was already under pressure. Earlier on Wednesday, Sport Minister Steve Dimopoulos called on Opposition Leader Jess Wilson to disendorse him over his conduct as coach of a junior girls’ basketball team. Mr Lindemann was suspended for six weeks last year for bringing the game into disrepute after an under-14s game.

He has apologised for that episode, saying in a statement he should have handled the situation differently, and that he has served the suspension. The comments about Indigenous Australians surfaced on the same day, and by evening the party had cut him loose.

Does it change the race in Williamstown?

Probably not the result, but it changes the campaign. Williamstown, in Melbourne’s inner west, has been held by Labor for all but a few years since 1889, and Jobs Minister Melissa Horne has held it since 2018. Her margin after preferences at the last election was about 13 per cent.

The bigger cost for the Liberals is time. With 17 days to go, every day spent answering for a disendorsed candidate is a day the Opposition is not setting the agenda. Because nominations have closed, the party cannot put up a replacement, so Liberal voters in Williamstown will see Mr Lindemann’s name on the ballot without the party’s endorsement behind it.

What does a disendorsement actually do?

It removes party support, money, volunteers and how-to-vote cards, but not the name. A disendorsed candidate can still collect votes and preferences, which is why parties try to vet candidates before nominations close rather than after.

Mr Lindemann had not publicly responded to the disendorsement by Wednesday evening.

VNN will update this story as more is confirmed.