Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh has defended the party's vetting processes after a candidate who was facing criminal charges was preselected.
Key points:
- Nationals Narracan candidate Shaun Gilchrist was facing sexual assault and rape charges
- He died by suicide in the lead-up to polling day, forcing the Narracan vote to be abandoned
- The party's leader says no information about the charges had been declared to the party
The Nationals preselected business owner Shaun Gilchrist as its candidate for the seat of Narracan, east of Melbourne.
Mr Gilchrist was due to face a directions hearing in the County Court this week, charged with rape and three counts of sexual assault.
But he died by suicide last week.
Mr Walsh told the Victorian Country Hour the party's candidates completed and signed a "very detailed declaration form" as part of the preselection process.
"That particular person did not put any of that information on their form and they signed it. So they did not tell us the truth," Mr Walsh said.
He said no background check would reveal pending charges where a conviction had not been recorded.
"So it would have been very difficult or impossible to know that was coming until it was actually on the court agenda," Mr Walsh said.
"Tragically for both Shaun and for us, that information wasn't available at the time."
The Nationals recorded a strong result at the Victorian election, securing the seats of Shepparton, Mildura and Morwell.
Candidate committed last year
Mr Gilchrist was due to stand trial in the County Court in June next year, with a directions hearing set for Wednesday, November 30.
On May 30 this year he was directed to stand trial after a committal hearing in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court.
The first hearing as part of the committal process was on September 21, 2021.
He was not preselected by the Nationals until this year.
After his death, the Victorian Electoral Commission declared the election in Narracan failed and the vote was abandoned.
The commission will organise a supplementary election in the seat at a later date.