In a dramatic move ahead of Friday’s Victorian Liberal leadership spill, embattled opposition leader John Pesutto is allowing remote voting in a bid to shore up crucial support against challenger Brad Battin. The high-stakes contest will determine the future direction of the party following their bruising election defeat.
Pesutto Permits Remote Participation
With the surprise spill meeting called for this Friday, Pesutto acted swiftly to secure his position. In an email to Liberal MPs, he revealed he had sought legal advice from shadow attorney general Michael O’Brien that remote participation in the vote could be authorized.
This intervention is designed to lock in votes from MPs Nick McGowan and Cindy McLeish, who are currently overseas. McLeish in particular is a key Pesutto backer, while McGowan’s stance remains uncertain. The remote voting gambit could prove decisive in the knife-edge contest.
Battle Lines Drawn
Despite Pesutto’s maneuvering, Battin remains confident he commands a majority of the party room. His supporters argue the remote voting push is unconstitutional, a claim Pesutto disputes. The rival factions are now locked in a bitter war of words.
The conservatives are trying to steal the leadership while key moderates are away. It’s an outrageous ambush.
– Anonymous Liberal MP
Battin had been under pressure to unify the party by appointing moderate Jess Wilson as his deputy. But in a blow to the Pesutto camp, he instead looks set to tap former tennis star turned MP Sam Groth for the role, cementing the conservative takeover.
Spill Meeting Fallout Looms
As tensions reach boiling point, Friday’s spill shapes as a defining moment for the Victorian Liberals. Whoever emerges victorious faces the daunting task of rebuilding a battered and divided party from the rubble of last month’s demoralizing state election result.
| John Pesutto | Brad Battin |
| Incumbent leader | Leadership challenger |
| Moderate faction | Conservative faction |
| Pursuing remote voting | Opposing remote voting |
The spill was ostensibly triggered by a push to readmit controversial MP Moira Deeming to the party room, after she successfully sued Pesutto for defamation. But it has rapidly escalated into an existential struggle for control between the arch conservative and moderate wings.
Amid growing public exasperation at the self-indulgent bloodletting, senior Liberals are warning that the “shit show” threatens to further tarnish their battered brand. With the battle lines starkly drawn, the looming showdown will determine whether the Victorian Liberals veer sharply right or strive for the center ground.
As the clock ticks down to Friday’s reckoning, Victoria’s long-suffering Liberal voters are left to ponder whether their party has truly hit rock bottom or astonishingly, if even greater depths beckon. For John Pesutto and Brad Battin, their divergent visions and political futures go on the line in this brutal game of thrones.
