New top Liberal’s Victorian leadership vow

Callum Godde | December 8, 2022

Comeback MP John Pesutto has pledged to lead a constructive Victorian opposition and consider quotas to boost female representation within the Liberals.

Mr Pesutto, 52, beat Berwick MP Brad Battin to succeed Matthew Guy as state Liberal leader in a party room meeting on Thursday morning following last month’s crushing election defeat.

Caulfield MP David Southwick was re-elected deputy leader, shadow health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier was elevated to upper house leader and transport infrastructure spokesman Matt Bach becomes her deputy.

Mr Pesutto would not reveal the result of the anonymous ballot but the vote reportedly fell 17-16.

Taking the helm of a divided party room, the Traralgon-born former lawyer said he would work constructively with Premier Daniel Andrews but his priority was to hold the government to account.

“Whatever Daniel Andrews has a mandate for doing, he does not have a mandate for doing badly,” he told reporters outside parliament.

“We’re going to call out mismanagement where it occurs; we’re going to call out blowouts wherever they occur; we’ll call out corruption wherever it might exist.”

Mr Pesutto narrowly reclaimed his seat of Hawthorn in Melbourne’s inner east after losing it to retired principal John Kennedy on live television at the 2018 state election.

With women accounting for four of the Liberals’ 27 confirmed lower house seats, Mr Pesutto is open to exploring quotas along with reserving casual vacancies.

“We know that we have to get more women into the Liberal Party and into parliament,” he said.

The former shadow attorney-general faces a tough task to revive the party’s fortunes after securing 29 per cent of the primary vote in November’s poll – its worst result in decades.

Mr Pesutto, from the more moderate wing of the party, said the Liberal brand has historically been at its best when appealing to both progressives and conservatives.

“Whether it was Jeff Kennett winning in 1992, Ted (Baillieu) in 2010, John Howard in 1996 – it was when the party was presenting as a board-based party,” he said.

Thursday’s vote marked Mr Battin’s second failed leadership tilt after he challenged former opposition leader Michael O’Brien in March 2021.

Describing himself as a proud Liberal, he backed Mr Pesutto and urged his counterparts to unite behind him.

“Never take the Liberal logo off any of your signs. I don’t care what electorate you’re running in,” he said.

Mr Southwick acknowledged the Liberal brand “needs work” across the nation, while Rowville MP Kim Wells said Mr Pesutto had a massive job after an “embarrassing” campaign.

Following his second consecutive election thumping, Mr Guy remained tight-lipped on whether he intends leaving parliament.

Mr O’Brien, the man he toppled for the top job last year, said the Bulleen MP must take responsibility for the election result.

“Clearly the message we were putting out didn’t resonate with enough people and I don’t think the people delivering the message were trusted by the Victorian people,” Mr O’Brien said.

Mr Pesutto plans to speak to Mr Guy before deciding whether to offer him a position in his shadow cabinet but wants Mr Battin to serve in a senior role.

Newly elected MPs Sam Groth and Jess Wilson will be appointed to senior positions, while Renee Heath has permission to sit in the party room after Mr Guy previously said she wouldn’t over her links to a controversial church.

Mr Andrews congratulated his new rival and said it was a “great honour” to be elected party leader.

Labor has equalled the 55 lower house seats it won in 2018 after Emma Vulin declared victory over Liberal candidate David Farrelly, who attended Thursday’s party room meeting but is understood to have voted for Mr Battin.

Preference distributions for Bass – the final lower house contest yet to be called – will be finalised and published on Friday, the Victorian Electoral Commission has confirmed.