Shadow Police Minister Brad Battin has won the leadership of the Victorian Liberals after John Pesutto was rolled at a partyroom meeting this morning.
Mr Pesutto’s leadership had been under immense pressure since exiled MP Moira Deeming won a high-stakes defamation case against him.
A special party meeting at state parliament readmitted Ms Deeming and spilled the leadership.
Mr Battin, who represents Berwick in Melbourne’s outer south-east, was elected to the top job.
Former tennis player and Nepean MP Sam Groth will serve as his deputy.
New leader pledges to bring unity to party
Mr Battin faced the media after his election to party leader, flanked by new deputy Sam Groth.
He said he would bring a different perspective to the leadership role.
“I’ve brought to the table experiences from outside the Victorian parliament and Victorian politics,” Mr Battin said.
“I’m coming to you as a small business owner and someone who can understand how those pressures impact on businesses.”
He paid tribute to outgoing leader John Pesutto, thanking him for his work over the past two years.
“He’s a true believer of our values and he’s a man of his word,” Mr Battin said.
“We now have an obligation to move forward.”
Mr Battin took the opportunity to iterate his policies, including a tougher approach on crime, addressing the budget and cost-of-living crisis, and a repairing Victoria’s road network.
The new leader did not disclose what his shadow ministry would look like, but said its makeup would not be based who had supported his leadership bid.
“There will be skill sets within our current parliamentary team that I want on our frontbench,” he said.
“It’ll be a team that is of merit … not a matter of who voted where.”
Upon leaving the room, Mr Pesutto pledged his support for Mr Battin.
“I congratulate Brad Battin, we’ve known each other a long time and I’ll do whatever I can to support him,” Mr Pesutto said.
“I’m a servant of the people of Hawthorn and a servant of the party room and the party.”
Deeming ‘delighted’ to be back
MPs had gathered to formally debate readmitting Moira Deeming back into the Victorian Liberal Party team, just a week after a near-identical motion narrowly failed to pass.
Roughly half an hour into the meeting, Ms Deeming walked into the room where it was being held, after her colleagues voted to reinstate her.
Speaking this afternoon, Ms Deeming said she was looking forward to working with the new leadership team.
“I’m delighted that the unjust allegations and expulsion has been overturned, and that I am back in the Liberal parliamentary party room where I belong,” she said.
“As hard as I have fought for justice and for my family across these last few years, I promise you that is how hard I will fight for justice and for every single family in this state.”
She said she did not know what would happen at today’s meeting.
“It was difficult for people [Liberal MPs] to speak to me until I was back in the fold,” she said.
“I think they’re probably wondering how I’m going to react to them, and to be honest it’s been a bit difficult.
“But people shook my hand — I actually have to give credit to John Pesutto. He did shake my hand and say sorry to me personally to me today … it meant a lot.”
Writing on the wall for Pesutto
Before the meeting, Benambra MP Bill Tilley was blunt when asked about the fate of Mr Pesutto’s leadership.
“Where we’re at now is, we’re not asking John [Pesutto], we’re telling him: we’re taking it off you,” Mr Tilley said.
Mr Battin was not alone in the race to replace Mr Pesutto.
On Thursday, Shadow Finance Minister Jess Wilson said in a statement that should a spill motion be successful, she would also run for the position of leader.
Mornington MP Chris Crewther also emailed colleagues saying he too would nominate, in a surprise move that has prompted claims that the Battin camp is divided.
He backed the new leader following the meeting, saying he was runner-up to the former police officer.
“I came second in the first vote and Jess came third and dropped out,” he said.
“We need to now get behind Brad Battin and the leadership team for the next election.”
While he said he would give Mr Battin his support, he did not rule out a future leadership run.
Threat to leadership comes after defamation case victory for Deeming
The threat to Mr Pesutto’s leadership came after the Hawthorn MP was ordered to pay $315,000 in damages to Ms Deeming after she successfully sued him for defamation.
The case centred on statements made by Mr Pesutto as he moved to expel her from parliamentary party ranks following her attendance at the Let Women Speak anti-trans-rights rally last year, which was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.
Ms Deeming has maintained she does not hold anti-trans views and has said she hopes to rejoin the parliamentary party in the wake of her defamation case victory.
Days after last week’s deadlocked vote on Ms Deeming’s return to the party room, Mr Pesutto said he had reflected on the vote and would now support her readmission.
As he walked into the meeting, Mr Pesutto said his only concern was for those battling bushfires in the state’s west.
“Let our thoughts be with them and the first responders who are trying to safeguard them and their properties,” he said.
Liberal MPs hoping for unity after weeks of in-fighting
Not all MPs were happy that the meeting was held on the same week dozens of Victorian communities were evacuated due to the Grampians bushfire.
“I didn’t want this meeting to take place today,” Shadow Treasurer Brad Rowswell said.
“But it is what it is. My heart this morning isn’t actually in the Liberal party room, my heart is in the western region of Victoria where there are fires ravaging the Grampians community.
“As soon as whatever happens today is done and dusted, we’ve got to move on and focus on what Victorian need us to focus on, like keeping our community safe at this otherwise challenging time.”
Former party leader and Malvern MP Michael O’Brien expressed a similar sentiment.
“We just need to knuckle down, get behind whatever decision is made today, and win the next election for Victoria’s sake,” he said.
Rowville MP Kim Wells, who has backed moves to readmit Ms Deeming to the party room, said the matter “had to get sorted”.
“We couldn’t continue the way we were. So this meeting had to happen, I think it’ll be a good result and then we’ll be reunited after that and start rebuilding the party,” he said.
Mr Wells confirmed he would vote for Mr Battin in order to provide a “fresh start”.
