Bernie Finn expelled from Victorian Liberals after party motion

Bernie Finn has fired a parting shot at the Victorian Liberals, claiming his ousting has given him a “new lease on life”.

Ousted Liberal MP Bernie Finn has revealed he will continue his political career, even vowing to create a new movement to uphold his right-wing views.

It comes after a motion to expel him from the parliamentary Victorian Liberal Party was passed at a party room meeting on Tuesday.

Liberal MPs gathered at 8.30am, with opposition leader Matthew Guy emerging at 9.20am to make the announcement.

Mr Finn revealed he was “seriously considering” retirement at the end of this term, but said his expulsion from the Liberal party had given him a “new lease on life”.

“Just as I will not be bullied by Daniel Andrews, I will not be bullied by Matthew Guy either,” Mr Finn said.

“If you hold the view, opposite or different to the leader in this party, you run the risk of expulsion.”

Mr Finn said he found out about the decision in a text from a colleague. 

“Officially, I have still not been informed,” he said.

Mr Finn claimed his expulsion had highlighted the Liberal party in Victoria had lost its traditional values.

“I joined the Liberal party over 41 years ago. I was 19 years of age. I joined the Liberal party because it was the party of freedom,” he said.

Bernie Finn has been booted from the Victorian Liberals’ parliamentary party. Picture: Sarah Matray

“The party of Menzies is no more — not in Victoria. It used to be the jewel in the Liberal crown, here in Victoria, but it doesn’t exist anymore.

“The party of Bolte, the party of Kennett, (it’s) gone. It doesn’t exist anymore.”

Mr Finn maintains his sacking was not justified, and said it was his understanding that he received some party room support.

“I have done nothing wrong,” he said.

“Can we expect a lynching on the steps here, perhaps for somebody who actually does something wrong in future?”

Mr Finn claimed he had been approached by “about five or six” parties who expressed interest in him joining their ranks.

But he declined to say which parties had offered him a spot.

Mr Finn said his No. 1 priority was “the defeat of the Andrews government” which he claimed was the “worst thing that’s ever happened to Victoria”.

“What’s happened today is going to make the removal of a government much harder,” he said.

“I am certainly not going to be bailing out of politics anytime soon.

“No more will we allow our voices to be crushed by people who do not want to hear what we have to say.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy and Liberal MP Bernie Finn in happier times. Picture: Kylie Else

“Let us go forward and let us form a new movement, if we must, if that’s what’s needed and let us fight for what we must fight for.”

Mr Finn said his Liberal party membership will expire next week and he was debating whether to renew it.

Despite his expulsion, Mr Finn said it wouldn’t be the end of his political career.

“I’ve looked back over my life and whenever anything really drastic has happened, it’s been absolutely devastating at the time but it’s almost invariably turned out for the best,” he told 3AW on Tuesday.

“I certainly believe this will be another case.”

Mr Finn received a rock star welcome from a group of about 50 anti-abortion supporters as he walked down the steps of parliament on Tuesday morning.

The group, donned with signs including “Net zero children” and “Liberalism is dead”, chanted “Bernie, Bernie, Bernie”.

Mr Finn later posed for pictures with supporters, including a group of primary-school-aged children.

In previous weeks, the controversial MP made a series of offensive social media posts about his wishes for Victoria to ban abortion, including comments he made that rape victims shouldn’t be able to terminate pregnancies.

Mr Guy defended the move to take the decision around Mr Finn’s preselection out of the hands of rank-and-file members.

He said Mr Finn’s ongoing offensive commentary was not welcome in the party.

Premier reacts to expulsion

Premier Daniel Andrews said Mr Finn’s expulsion was “entirely a matter for them”.

“I’ll leave them to be bitterly divided while we get on as a government and deliver for the people of our great state,” Mr Andrews said.

“Our priorities are very clear. So are theirs, it seems.”

Mr Guy said the decision was not taken lightly.

“Mr Finn’s service to the Parliamentary Liberal Party is acknowledged,” he said.

“The Victorian Liberal Party welcomes a wide and diverse range of views.

“But it also reasonably expects all members to be team players and uphold standards in their public discourse.

“The Party has an unrelenting focus to provide a real alternative to another four years of Daniel Andrews’ waste, debt, mismanagement, and failure to listen to the real concerns of Victorians.”

Reason Party leader Fiona Patten said the expulsion of Mr Finn was “justified” given his “absolutely appalling” behaviour.

Reason Party leader Fiona Patten has hit out at Bernie Finn. Picture: David Crosling

“Beliefs can be held, however, his behaviour has been absolutely appalling,” she said.

“Not just now around abortion, but over the years, whether that’s around Covid, whether that’s been around the pandemic.”

Ms Patten said it was the right move for the Liberal Party to expel Mr Finn.

“If this weekend has shown the Liberal Party anything is that they have to modernise and if they want to pick up votes in Victoria,” she said.

The crossbencher said it was unlikely Mr Finn’s would retain his position as an independent MP at the state election in November.

“We know that 80 per cent of the (Victorian) population support women’s reproductive rights,” she said.

“I think he will be trying to get votes from a very small proportion of Victorians.

“I don’t like his chances.”

Why Finn didn’t attend meeting

Mr Finn earlier told the Herald Sun that he would not attend the meeting because he didn’t want to legitimise “a very dodgy process”.

“Having read the charge sheet, it is just abominable the accusations that have been made,” he said.

“I have never been disloyal to the party – I’ve probably had reason to do that but I never have. Even last week, when I should have been defending myself, I stayed silent.

“I have been a bastion in the party in the west for decades. I have been to places that they have never even heard of.

“For them, or anyone, to accuse me of disloyalty is just an outrageous insult. I have to say it’s quite hurtful.

“What they’re saying to me is ‘we don’t mind you being a conservative, but shut up.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy earlier said action was being taken because of Mr Finn’s behaviour. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“That’s what they’re trying to do — they’re trying to silence me.

“I was not put in parliament to sit in the corner and shut up.

“If we’re not going to stand up for our constituents, we may as well go to the front bar of the Imperial (Hotel) and stay there.”

Mr Guy on Monday said action was being taken because of Mr Finn’s behaviour, rather than his views.

But Mr Finn said it was “bizarre” that his future was subject to votes from MPs – including Tim Smith – who had “disgraced themselves with alcohol”.

“I don’t think my crime is anywhere as bad as what they’ve done. I don’t think in any way they should have any judgment on me,” he said.

“If I’m being put on trial and being judged by those people, I just wonder about their priorities.”

Finn denies Liberals’ claims

Mr Finn said he was intending to run for the November state election regardless.

“Under which banner is anybody’s guess … I’ll be swapping notes with Fiona Patten,” he laughed.

“Freedom of speech is worth defending. It doesn’t say much for the Liberal Party concept of freedom of speech. If we have now ditched that, what do we stand for? I don’t know.”

Speaking on 3AW on Monday, Mr Finn said the Liberal Party had accused him of publicly criticising them.

“I have never done that,” he said. 

“I might have done a lot of things but I have not publicly criticised the leadership or indeed the party. 

“The charge sheet itself, if you can call it that, is all over the shop, it’s almost like it was written by David Davis after his third bottle, it’s impossible to make any sense of it at all.”

Mr Finn claimed that shadow treasurer David Davis was behind the motion and Mr Guy had been “manipulated”.

Veteran MP Bernie Finn is notorious for his controversial views. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

“To launch expulsion proceedings against a member on the week of the federal election, I say is absolutely astounding,” he said.

“I do not for the life of me understand the thought process behind it.”

When asked about his views on abortion, Mr Finn said he was “praying” Victoria and the rest of the country would put a stop to it.

“Killing babies is criminal,” he said.

“I don’t believe that any child should be punished for the crimes of its parent,” he said.

“My view is if you want to kill someone in this situation, kill a rapist.

“If that’s what we need to do, it’s not the baby’s fault in this situation.”

Mr Finn also said he shouldn’t have compared Premier Daniel Andrews to Adolf Hitler last year.

“I think that thing about Dan Andrews being a Nazi was unfortunate because it lead to many in the Jewish community to think I was in some way belittling what happened in Nazi Germany,” he said.

“That’s far from the case … I deeply regret that they may have felt that way but unfortunately I have a sense of humour.

“Sometimes I say things and I think they are quite funny and a lot of people think they are quite funny.”

Originally published as Bernie Finn expelled from Victorian Liberals after party motion