McArthur’s factional ally quits amid reported links to online neo-Nazi content

The preselection running mate of Liberal powerbroker Bev McArthur has abruptly withdrawn from the race for a spot on the party’s upper house ticket amid reported online links to content shared by neo-Nazi extremists.

Western District beef farmer and mother of three Susanne Marro withdrew as a candidate from Saturday’s preselection contest after the party’s applicant review committee was reportedly alerted to allegedly troubling activity on her social media.

Five Liberal Party sources, speaking confidentially to discuss internal party processes, claimed the committee raised concerns about Marro allegedly engaging online with content linked to neo-Nazi associates.

There is no suggestion that Marro or McArthur sympathise with neo-Nazis or share their views. The Age has not seen the content in question.

Marro did not respond to questions when contacted by this masthead on Thursday. McArthur also declined to comment.

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson, who is a member of the applicant review committee but was not part of the panel that assessed Marro’s candidacy, also batted away questions.

“That’s a matter for the party,” she said.

A senior party figure said that Marro, after being questioned by the applicant review committee about her social media history, agreed to voluntarily withdraw her name from preselection.

“She has taken a bullet on behalf of the party,” they said.

Marro’s withdrawal is a blow for McArthur, her factional ally and the Liberal Party’s leader in the upper house, who is seeking preselection to remain the party’s top candidate for the western region. McArthur was a strong supporter of Marro and had appeared this year at several campaign events alongside her.

In her promotional material, Marro is also pictured with former prime minister Tony Abbott, former Victorian premier Denis Napthine and the outgoing MP she was seeking to replace, Joe McCracken. Two of her central campaign issues were opposition to the government’s Emergency Services and Volunteer Fund and the rollout of high-voltage cables to transmit renewable power.

Opposition to transmission lines has also fuelled anti-government conspiracy theories within extremist and sovereign citizen movements.

The party’s local electors and state council delegates will gather this weekend to finalise preselections for the upper house western region and western metropolitan seats. McArthur has nominated for the No.1 spot in the western region, and Marro, until this week, had nominated for the No.2 spot.

The Liberal Party, which at past elections was dogged by scandals surrounding poorly vetted candidates, has since improved its scrutiny of candidates, which includes extensive declarations, national crime checks, credit checks and identity checks, and additional vetting reports from external consultants.

The applicant review committee that oversees this process last week interviewed all preselection candidates for the western region. The party requires all committee members to sign non-disclosure agreements about their deliberations, which are highly confidential.

Marro, who founded a paddock-to-plate business at her family farm near Mount Boulton, is well connected within Western District communities, which for generations have strongly supported the Victorian Liberal Party. That support is now being tested by the rise of One Nation.

Marro’s online history includes membership of the MAGA (Make Australia Great Again) Facebook group that hosts racist, Islamophobic and other offensive content. She also joined the March for Australia Facebook group, which last year attracted the involvement of prominent neo-Nazis at its national rallies.

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