Toppled Victorian Liberal leader Brad Battin has opened up about the leadership change that ended his tenure, revealing both a key mistake and a decision he refuses to regret.
Battin, who celebrated the night of his downfall with his team, acknowledged that a recent reshuffle of shadow cabinet positions may have unsettled colleagues.
“Internally, obviously we’ve had some challenges there, and I made some changes that people weren’t happy with,” Battin said, referring to last month’s reshuffle. Among the most contentious moves were the appointment of Jess Wilson as shadow treasurer and the shift of James Newbury to shadow lawyer general.
Despite the leadership loss, Battin defended his intense focus on crime issues, a major part of his public messaging. “You can go around and have a look each and every day at what’s happening in crime… Were we too focused on it? No. We were focused on what people were telling us in the community,” he said.
While new polling revealed that Battin had regained an election-winning position for the first time in months, some Liberal MPs worried that the Allan government’s crime crackdown had neutralised what was previously a key difference between the parties.
Battin also praised Wilson, whom he predicts will excel as party leader. “I said the other day at an event with the Young Liberals that Jess is going to be a great leader of the party. She’ll be a great leader, and Victorians will be proud to see her go through,” he said. Battin described Wilson as “the right person” to lead the Liberals into next year’s election.
Although Battin admitted that his reshuffle ruffled feathers, he emphasised that he had no regrets about focusing on crime, asserting that it reflected community concerns rather than a personal obsession. The leadership change highlights the internal tensions and strategic recalibrations within the Victorian Liberal Party as it prepares for the next state election.
