Victorian Liberals have elected Brad Battin as their new leader, replacing John Pesutto who was ousted amid internal divisions. Battin, a moderate conservative, emphasizes unity and a suburban focus for the party.
These are the words newly minted Opposition Leader Brad Battin uttered dozens of times in his first press conference as the top Victorian Liberal. 'What we need to do is be united. So, we've got a message out there that is moving in the right direction,'' Battin said on Friday.For years the Victorian Liberals have been a divided bunch, too often sidetracked by personal battles and internecine internal disputes.
John Pesutto's ham-fisted expulsion of Moira Deeming was just the latest front in long-running struggles.Pesutto, the member for Hawthorn, was more of an old school small 'l' liberal. Battin a 14-year veteran of state parliament pitched himself as a more suburban leader. His backers firmly believe winning over the suburbs is the key to electoral success.Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto was removed as party leader in a party room meeting on Friday. Conservatives back Battin but he's far from a hard conservative. In the past he has advocated strongly for smart justice for criminals and has supported raising the age of criminal responsibility. But he has been the rallying point for conservatives and those in the party angry with the Liberals' direction. Pesutto's treatment of Deeming ultimately cost him his job. His position as leader was under constant scrutiny, no opposition leader in Victoria has been the subject of such constant job security speculation. When he made the ill-fated decision to try and expel Deeming for attending a Let Women Speak anti-trans rights rally — which was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis — he was attempting to show the Liberals under his watch would be focused on middle Victoria.Pesutto did not want his MPs focused on what he perceived as fringe social issues. His attacks on Deeming for attending the March 2023 rally were criminal to many MPs and Liberals.Mr Battin has had several careers prior to politics, including as a small business operatorMPs either backed Pesutto or they didn'
VICTORIAN POLITICS LIBERAL PARTY BRAD BATTIN JOHN PESUTTO OPPOSITION LEADER
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