New Liberal leader Brad Battin slams Labor as ‘cowards’ for not running candidate in Prahran by-election

Brad Battin has come out punching against Labor on his first official day as Opposition Leader, accusing Jacinta Allan of overlooking the Prahran electorate in favour of her own “popularity”.

New Opposition Leader Brad Battin has come out punching against Labor on his first official day on the job, labelling the Victorian Premier and the government “cowards” for not fielding a candidate in the Prahran by-election.

At his first official media event since taking the leadership from John Pesutto, Mr Battin stood up in Prahran endorsing the Liberal candidate Rachel Westaway, and hit out at Premier Jacinta Allan directly for her call not to field a member in the February by-election.

“The Labor Party are cowards when it comes to fielding a candidate here in Prahran,” Mr Battin said.

“They know that the community has them on the nose at the moment with the crime increasing.

“What the Labor government is saying to every person in this electorate is we don’t care what you say, we don't care if you’re hurting, we are not going to even give you an opportunity to vote against us.”

Newly elected Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin after the Liberal Party vote at Parliament House in Melbourne. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

When quizzed about why it was cowardly, Mr Battin backed in his comments saying “if you were proud of your achievements in government you would put someone up to ensure that they can collect those votes and increase the margin. But they know they wouldn’t get that and it would only impact on Jacinta Allan’s popularity within her party. This is a decision to try and protect her, not the residents of Prahran.”

It comes after last month, several Labor sources — from across both the government and the party more broadly — said they had been informed that it was head office’s intention to not to run a candidate fearful that a loss would be damaging ahead of the 2026 election.

Mr Battin hyped Ms Westaway saying she has lived in the area “for more than 20 years” and “understands and has lived it” and that getting her in to parliament was the first step to “fix the state”.

Premier Jacinta Allan was criticised for not fielding a Prahran candidate. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Ms Westaway was selected as the Liberal candidate for the upcoming by-election in Prahran earlier this month, which was sparked by the resignation of former Greens MP Sam Hibbins.

She will be competing with the Greens candidate Angelica Di Camillo for the seat as well as a host of independent candidates but said “I have got skin in the game ... I bring my family up in this area”.

When asked if she was worried if the party in-fighting could overshadow her election campaign, she said that the people in the electorate were only concerned about crime and the cost of living.

“This is an opportunity for change, and that’s what they’re focused on,” Ms Westaway said.

She highlighted that vacancy rates on Chapel St would be her main focus as well as addressing recent jumps in violent crime and property damage. She also flagged the idea of a pop up police station in the area.

Mr Battin also addressed the tension in the party room, telling reporters that although he had only briefly spoken with former leader John Pesutto on Friday, he was sure he would remain part of their team.

“I’ll be calling John this weekend,” he said.

“He’s a hard worker, he’s a fighter … he will put the party before himself every day of the week.”

A Victorian Government Spokesperson said: “We are focused on helping busy families and building for our future – not weighing into Greens/Liberal contests”.

“Brad Battin and the Liberal Party has shown Victorians where their priorities lie. While the state was facing its worst bushfire threat in years- the Liberals were in Parliament fighting about their fourth leader in four years.

“Brad Battin is the most extreme far-right Liberal leader in history. The first thing he did as leader is outline his plan for cutting the frontline services that Victorian families rely on.”