THE Victorian Liberal Party has elected Kew MP Jess Wilson as its new leader, marking the first time a woman has headed the state branch, after a dramatic partyroom spill on Tuesday, November 18.
Less than a year after Brad Battin secured the leadership, a motion to spill the positions was carried Tuesday morning, with Ms Wilson defeating Mr Battin 19-16. The change continues a period of instability for the opposition, which has now cycled through five leaders since September 2021; three of them in just 11 months.
Mr Battin’s position began to unravel yesterday, on Monday, November 17, when a delegation of Liberal MPs informed him that he no longer commanded majority support.
The party’s standing has weakened in recent polling, despite the Albanese and Allan Labor governments facing pressure over rising crime rates and spiralling state debt.
Addressing reporters after the vote, Ms Wilson said her priorities would include repairing the state budget, tackling crime, improving healthcare access and expanding home ownership opportunities.
“Victorians have a clear choice. A choice between a tired, out of touch Labor government or a new generation Liberal team,” she said.
Long-running internal divisions have plagued the party since its heavy defeat at the 2022 election, including the high-profile defamation lawsuit between MP Moira Deeming and former leader John Pesutto.
Mr Battin said while the numbers did not fall his way, the Liberal Party still had “a very clear path” to the next state 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.
The leadership upheaval in Victoria follows turbulence at the federal level, where the Liberal Party last week dumped its net-zero emissions policy, fuelling speculation over the future of federal leader Sussan Ley.
