Text leak claims top Liberal as ‘women problem’ returns
Callum Godde |
A state Liberal party has been sent spiralling into more turmoil, with a key leader quitting over disrespectful remarks about women.
Two days out from an annual meeting of MPs and party faithful, Victorian Liberal state director Stuart Smith has sensationally stepped down after a leaked message scandal.
“In the best interests of the party I have tendered my resignation to minimise distractions from the important task of winning the next election,” he said in a statement on Thursday morning.
“I regret the comments and have apologised for them.”
His sudden departure was set in train when The Australian published leaked WhatsApp messages from a head office staff group chat on Wednesday night.
In the messages, Mr Smith made disparaging remarks about the Liberal Women’s Council and 76-year-old frontbencher Bev McArthur.
Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin would not front cameras to speak on the scandal, but his office instead released a statement saying Mr Smith’s resignation was the “right thing to do”.
“His comments were unacceptable and do not reflect the standards of professionalism, integrity and inclusion that we all expect of each other,” he said.
A former WA party director, Mr Smith was appointed to the role in 2023 to replace Sam McQuestin after the Liberals were thumped in the 2022 Victorian election.
Former Liberal deputy leader David Southwick said Mr Smith’s comments were inappropriate but deflected when asked if the party had a problem with women.
Fellow frontbencher Evan Mulholland was more forthright, saying those kinds of comments about any colleague were completely unacceptable.
The latest eruption of Victorian Liberal infighting also raises questions about the state party’s attitude towards women.
In June, former state Liberal treasurer Alan Stockdale was roundly criticised after telling a gathering of female executives the party’s women had become “so assertive” it might need to consider support for men.
He was then replaced on a steering committee for the federal takeover of the NSW division by former premier Nick Greiner, who acknowledged the party had a problem with women.
Premier Jacinta Allan said it was a “repeat pattern of behaviour”, saying the Liberals were “reckless, they’re extreme, they’re divided”.
The state party has endured a long and damaging rift between John Pesutto and outspoken MP Moira Deeming, who successfully sued the then-party leader for defamation after he sacked her for attending a rally crashed by neo-Nazis.
The Victorian party is preparing to assemble in Melbourne on Saturday and Sunday for the annual state council meeting, with federal deputy leader Ted O’Brien and Mr Battin expected to speak.
State party president Philip Davis will also face a challenge from predecessor Greg Mirabella, who stepped down from the job in 2023 to make an unsuccessful tilt at Senate preselection.
AAP
