Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin has publicly lashed out at his own Liberal colleagues after two upper house MPs compared former Premier Daniel Andrews to Joseph Stalin and invoked the Nuremberg trials during a heated debate over a planned bronze statue.
During Thursday’s partyroom meeting and a subsequent press conference, Battin said he was “disappointed and very angry” with his MPs. He stressed that the Coalition must demonstrate it is a credible alternative government by focusing on issues Victorians care about, such as crime, cost of living and the state’s health crisis, rather than resorting to extreme historical comparisons.
The controversy erupted when Liberal MPs Moira Deeming and Ann-Marie Hermans launched blistering attacks on Andrews’ pandemic legacy, accusing him of crushing freedoms, abusing police powers and centralising authority. Deeming referenced the “principles of the Nuremberg trials,” while Hermans claimed Andrews’ leadership echoed elements of Stalinist authoritarianism.
Labor MPs erupted in fury, with Michael Galea branding the remarks “an absolute joke” and “deeply offensive.” Tom McIntosh condemned the comparison as “disgusting,” arguing it dishonoured Australians who fought in World War II to protect democracy.
Despite the uproar, the Andrews statue remains on track, set to make him the fifth Victorian Premier honoured in bronze, following John Cain Jr, Rupert Hamer, Henry Bolte and Albert Dunstan.
