Victorian Liberals elect first female leader

THE Victorian Liberals have appointed their first female leader as the beleaguered party eyes the next state election.

Less than a year after Brad Battin was chosen to head the party, he faced a partyroom spill earlier today (Tuesday, November 18), with Kew MP Jess Wilson, a 35-year-old former staffer to ex-federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg, successfully challenging him for the leadership of the opposition.

A motion to spill the leadership positions was successful, and Ms Wilson won the vote 19-16.

The party now has its fifth leader since September 2021, and its third in 11 months.

Mr Battin, who reshuffled his cabinet in early October, was visited by a delegation of Liberal MPs yesterday (Monday, November 17) who told him he had lost partyroom support, with others then calling him to deliver the same message.

The Victorian opposition has slipped in recent polls despite the three-term Labor government grappling with soaring crime and state debt.

Speaking to the media after the vote, Ms Wilson said her focus as leader would be to get the budget under control, rein in crime, improve access to healthcare, and give Victorians opportunities to own homes.

“Victorians have a clear choice. A choice between a tired, out of touch Labor government or a new generation Liberal team.”

Internal tensions have simmered since a crushing defeat at the 2022 election, spilling into a defamation lawsuit by Liberal MP Moira Deeming against the party’s previous leader John Pesutto.

Mr Battin said the votes did not go his way today but his party had “a very clear path” to the next election.

“The Victorian Liberal Party need to make sure that we’re on the path to ensure that we can get into power at the next election, because we need to see genuine change. We can’t just wait for it to happen.

“Politics isn’t about just being inside the Parliament. It’s actually about the people – it’s about the people we’re supposed to be representing.”

The moves among Victorian Liberals come after their federal counterparts abandoned the party’s net-zero emissions policy, stoking speculation of a challenge against leader Sussan Ley.

 – WITH AAP