COP TO TAKE ON POLICE MINISTER:

McKiterick wins fierce pre-selection fight

VETERAN police officer Brian McKiterick is set to take on State Police Minister Lisa Neville in a law-and-order themed battle for Bellarine.

The Surf Coast councillor was endorsed as the Bellarine Liberal candidate after party members chose him over former Glen Eira mayor Helen Whiteside at a weekend preselection ballot.

The battle was a particularly fierce contest with accu- sations of “unethical” branch poaching against Ms Whiteside from within the party earlier this year.

Cr McKiterick joined Victoria Police in 1979 and served as Torquay’s top cop for more than a decade.

He was first elected to Surf Coast council in November 2008 and has served as the shire’s mayor for two nonconsecutive terms.

“I’m excited to have been pre-selected as the Liberal candidate for Bellarine,” he said in a statement.

“I want to contribute my 39 years of policing experience to Matthew Guy’s team. I’m looking forward to working with South Barwon MP Andrew Katos and Geelong candidate Freya Fidge to ensure a strong Liberal voice for our region.”

Cr McKiterick was not the first police officer to be considered as the Coalition’s 2018 contender for Ms Neville’s seat.

Borough of Queenscliffe Mayor Tony Francis was touted as a potential challenger to the Police Minister until the senior sergeant resigned in May 2017 as the head of the Liberal Party Bellarine branch.

Ms Neville was first elected as the member for Bellarine at the 2002 state election, replacing retiring Liberal MP Garry Spry.

She came close to losing the 2010 election, winning 51.4 per cent of the two-party preferred vote to Liberal candidate Kurt Reiter on 48.6 per cent.

However, Ms Neville bolstered her two-party preferred vote at the 2014 state election, winning 54.8 per cent to Lib- eral candidate Ron Nelson 45.2 per cent.

Cr McKiterick’s selection means only two major party candidacies remain unfilled in the Geelong region — the Liberal candidate for Lara and the Labor candidate for the Polwarth electorate.

Lara is held on an ultra-safe margin by Labor MP John Eren and Polwarth is also held on a safe buffer by Liberal MP Richard Riordan, meaning any potential challenger faces an almost impossible task to unseat the incumbent.