After a week of spectacular self-sabotage, the Victorian Liberal party's pain is only just beginning

The Guardian

4 days ago

It was meant to be the Victorian Liberals' week. Instead, the party – now almost synonymous with political self-sabotage – has imploded once again.
And it's likely only going to get worse from here as the countdown officially begins for former leader John Pesutto to pay the $2.3m in legal fees he owes Moira Deeming or face bankruptcy after he was found in December to have defamed her.
'The pain for John may be about to end, but the pain for others may be just about to begin,' one of Pesutto's supporters warned.
The week had started with a sense of optimism from Pesutto's successor as opposition leader, Brad Battin, and his team.
After machete-wielding rival gangs sent a shopping centre into lockdown at the weekend, the Labor government on Monday rushed to ban the sale of the knives within 48 hours.
It was a move the Liberals had advocated for since 2023, giving them a rare 'we told you so' moment. They also had their budget reply on Tuesday, headlined by a policy designed to win back young voters: abolishing stamp duty for properties under $1m.
But whatever momentum the Liberals were hoping to build vanished before the shadow treasurer stood up to deliver his speech.
Earlier on Tuesday, a party room meeting was called to discuss what – if anything – was being done by Battin to avert a byelection in the seat of Hawthorn – which will occur if Pesutto is bankrupted and therefore disqualified from parliament.
The issue of the byelection – which many Liberals believe the party would lose – was raised by the Sandringham MP, Brad Rowswell, who had attempted to discuss it during a shadow cabinet meeting on Monday but was told it was a matter for the broader party room.
After facing criticism that such a discussion would distract from the party's messaging, Rowswell deferred the discussion altogether.
But the matter still made headlines and overshadowed the budget response. A Liberal MP loyal to Battin said it was an intentional move to 'destabilise' the leader, while a detractor said it was a 'valid question everyone has been asking'.
It only got worse for Battin, when a letter from Deeming's lawyers to Pesutto was leaked to the media on Wednesday.
It suggested that in the event of Pesutto's bankruptcy, Deeming would seek to recover her legal costs from those who contributed to his defence fund. The list includes three former Liberal premiers, Ted Baillieu, Denis Napthine and Jeff Kennett, two sitting MPs, Georgie Crozier and David Southwick, and other party figures who have supported the Hawthorn MP.
According to one Pesutto supporter, the letter had the effect of 'galvanising support' for the beleaguered former leader, as it 'showed it won't end with him if he is bankrupted'.
'It will engulf the entire party with months of hearings and political bloodletting ahead.'
Deeming's lawyers are set to initiate bankruptcy proceedings on Monday, after Pesutto failed to meet Friday's deadline. Pesutto will then have a further three weeks to pay the $2.3m owed, of which sources say he has raised around a third.
Deeming's lawyers have also applied to the federal court for leave to issue sub­poenas to obtain communications between Pesutto and those who donated to his unsuccessful legal defence.
'It will be a shit show for all involved and a nightmare for the party,' another Pesutto supporter said.
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It's no wonder Battin faced relentless questioning on the matter. On Wednesday, he repeated the same line that he would keep his conversations confidential and urged his colleagues to stay 'on message'.
But Southwick broke ranks, urging people to 'step up' to prevent a Hawthorn byelection.
'The fact that [Pesutto's] fighting for his job, fighting for his livelihood – it is horrific, regardless of what people think about the situation,' he told reporters.
As one Liberal MP privately quipped: 'They were the type of comments Brad should have made a fortnight ago'.
They weren't alone in their criticism. Several Liberal MPs have expressed frustration that Battin failed to show leadership during a week when the party desperately needed him to.
Even some who backed him in the December leadership spill are now questioning their decision. The Herald Sun has already reported murmurs of a leadership challenge – less than six months into Battin's tenure.
In a sign of how desperate the situation has become, one rumour doing the rounds is that former MP Matt Bach could be asked to return from the UK to lead. Other names being bandied about are Matthew Guy, in what would be his third go as leader, or Jess Wilson, who lost her bid for deputy in December.
If all this wasn't enough, the cherry on top of a shocker week were several stories scrutinising expense claims by Battin's deputy, Sam Groth, including allegations that he used a taxpayer funded, chauffeur-driven car – assigned to Crozier – to take himself and his wife from a fundraising event at the Australian Open to their home in Rye and spending $3,269 on hotel stays after sporting events.
Groth, who is also the opposition spokesperson for tourism, sport and events, on Friday said his conduct 'was and is above board'.
'It has all been officially disclosed. There is nothing to hide,' he said.
For her part, Crozier told the ABC she was 'incredibly disappointed' over the issue, and that 'Victorians deserve a lot better'.
'I think that Sam needs to explain his actions – I can't,' she said.
Again, Battin was forced to front the press on Friday on the defensive.
'It's pretty obvious we've had some tensions in the party at the moment. And I'm continuing to work through that,' he said.
If anything this week is proof, yet again, that the Victorian Liberal party is too often its own worst enemy.
With additional reporting by Henry Belot