Libs open nominations for Hawthorn

The Victorian Liberal Party is a step closer to choosing its candidate for the safe Liberal seat of Hawthorn, announcing that it will open nominations for the seat held by retiring former leader Ted Baillieu.

Liberal Party Victorian state director Damien Mantach said its administrative committee agreed to open nominations for the seat until September 2.

The administrative committee will then conduct preselection for the seat on September 4, he said in a statement.

Premier Denis Napthine's legal counsel John Pesutto and Institute of Public Affairs executive director John Roskam are reportedly front-runners to take over in the prized seat from Mr Baillieu, who will quit politics at the November 29 election.

Dr Napthine says he will not interfere in the seat's preselection process.

He also would not say whether he had spoken to government frontbencher Mary Wooldridge about nominating or whether he would support her if she did.

"We have a large number of people in the Liberal Party who may wish to indicate their involvement in that seat. I think it would be premature to make judgments about who may or may not be the best candidate," he said.

Earlier this year Dr Napthine backed a plan for Ms Wooldridge to move to the seat of Kew, after her seat of Doncaster was abolished.

But in an embarrassing loss for her and the premier Ms Wooldridge failed to win the preselection battle.

Ms Wooldridge is set to contest an upper house seat in November, after one of the three Liberal members for the Eastern Metropolitan Region, Jan Kronberg, decided not to recontest her position.

City of Ballarat Mayor Josh Morris has been selected as the new Liberal candidate for the Western Victoria Region, the party also announced.