The Liberal Party has removed Grant Hutchinson as its Croydon candidate, less than seven weeks before Victoria’s November 28 election. The party’s state executive voted to disendorse him. One source familiar with the court case said people were bewildered: the case was already well known in political circles, and there had been no recent developments. Another source called the replacement a “captain’s pick.”
The party apparatus decides
Opposition leader Jess Wilson said the party acted after further details about a lawsuit Hutchinson brought against his own law firm came to its attention. The suit prompted a counterclaim, had been public knowledge since last year, and some media had reported it. A Liberal figure said the party feared the case could drag on.
“It’s no longer appropriate for him to be a candidate,” Wilson said. Asked if she was confident in the party’s vetting, she replied, “Yes,” then added: “As I said ... new information has come to light.” Wilson sits on the state executive that voted to remove Hutchinson on Monday night.
The sequence leaves party decision-makers explaining why a known court case became disqualifying now, so close to the election. One source said nothing had recently changed; another said the party feared the case could continue. The report offers both explanations, but no further details on what new information shifted the party’s position.
Hutchinson didn’t respond to requests for comment. The report describes no grassroots or community-organized response to the decision, and identifies no mutual-aid effort linked to the candidate change. The action took place inside the party: its executive withdrew an endorsement and chose a replacement.
A replacement with political ties
Toby Wooldridge will stand for Croydon. He’s the son of former federal Liberal minister Michael Wooldridge and nephew of former MP Mary Wooldridge. One source suspected he was the preferred candidate; a third called the change a “captain’s pick.” The report doesn’t say what role Croydon voters played in choosing between the candidates.
Hutchinson, a senior lawyer and member of the party’s religious right, won endorsement last year. The report said the decision astounded some Liberal members. Campaign material appeared on his Instagram account, which has since been deleted. The party has changed its candidate; the underlying contest remains one managed through endorsement and executive authority.
The seat and the wider pattern
Longstanding Croydon member David Hodgett is retiring after 20 years in parliament. The Liberal Party holds the marginal Melbourne eastern seat by 1.4 per cent, but would expect to extend its lead at the November 28 election. Those figures show what’s at stake as the party replaces its candidate before voters go to the polls; they don’t explain the executive’s reasoning beyond the lawsuit and the concern that the case could drag on.
Croydon isn’t the only endorsement dispute in the report. The Liberal Party also removed current MP Moira Deeming as a candidate in a separate dispute and declined to endorse Dinesh Gourisetty after his preselection. The report offers no account of a legislative fix or electoral reform to change how parties control candidate endorsements. Instead, it records a familiar institutional fact: party officials make the decisions, while the public assesses the candidates they put forward.