New Opposition Leader Brad Battin plans to create new Liberals heartland in outer suburbs

Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin wants to create a new Liberals heartland in Melbourne’s outer suburbs — and he had a firm answer when asked what he’d do differently from the man he ousted from the top job.

Life in Melbourne’s outer suburbs is all new Victorian Liberal Leader Brad Battin has ever known.

Born in Harkaway, a little known suburb in Melbourne’s outer east, the Battin family moved into neighbouring Berwick in 1983.

At that point, it was mostly farmland.

The leafy outer suburbs electorate, encircled by Labor seats, is where he got his first job as a paperboy, met his wife Jo at age 16, raised his two daughters, and has served as an MP for 14 years.

So, the new Opposition Leader had a firm answer when asked what he would do differently from his inner-suburbs predecessor, John Pesutto, who he ousted in a leadership spill on Friday.

New Liberal leader Brad Battin with his wife, Jo, at their home in Berwick. Picture: Tony Gough

“We need to start changing the party’s policies directed at the Caseys, Cardinias, the Point Cooks, the outer growth areas that have been neglected for so long,” he said.

“Families out here are working two, three jobs to put their kids through an education – they’re aspirational.

“These areas should be Liberal heartland.”

In his first exclusive sit-down interview after his crushing win on Friday, a relaxed Mr Battin, 49, sitting at his dining room table alongside wife Jo, said he was confident he could achieve what many see as a near-impossible task: uniting the Victorian Liberal Party.

That means getting all 30 of his colleagues, including previous leaders Mr Pesutto, Michael O’Brien and Matthew Guy, to trust that he is the man to take them to the 2026 election.

“I’m sure they’ll come on board with us,” he says, confidently.

Mr Battin, with wife Jo, says his work as a Victoria Police senior constable and as a suburban business owner has given him a one-up on his predessor. Picture: Tony Gough

His experience as a senior constable at Victoria Police and as a suburban business owner, he says, has afforded him with an advantage over his predecessor.

As a child, Mr Battin grew up in a loving family. One with a strong legacy of policing.

“Nowadays kids would have posters of Justin Bieber on the wall. I used to have posters from Police Life,” he recalls.

His dream – which did not require a Year 12 Certificate – led him to leave school at age 15.

“I went to McDonald’s full time … because mum said I couldn’t leave school until I had a job,” he said.

The rusted-on Geelong supporter, lover of acoustic cover bands and former gym junkie, who prefers reformer pilates these days, is the only outer suburban MP to serve at state Liberal Leader.

He loves footy, beers and his shoulders are wrapped with tatts.

Each of them, he explains, has a deep meaning.

On his left shoulder is a tribute to his wife, Jo, and his two daughters.

On his right is in memory of his brother-in-law who died at age 18.

Another, under his right arm, is a tribute to those who have suffered and died from brain cancer.

New Victorian Liberal Leader Brad Battin in his police uniform at his 2001 graduation. Picture: Supplied

After quitting the force in 2007 – unhappy with their move away from early intervention for youth criminals – and a short stint at Frank Walker’s National Tiles, Mr Battin bought a Wheeler’s Hill Baker’s Delight which, at the time, was going down the gurgler.

“In three years time, we well and truly over doubled the business,” he said.

“All my staff stayed with me the whole time.”

The new Opposition Leader said the key to leadership was “trust”.

“You’ve got to build trust with your staff – obviously today that’s colleagues,” he says.

Mr Battin has held his electorate – 40km away from his predecessor’s Liberal heartland seat of Hawthorn – for 14 years.

Labor controls almost 80 per cent of outer suburban seats, but Mr Battin believes his leadership could change that.

“As a party we haven’t done enough out in these areas,” he said.

“Having a person out here who represents them … I think will make a difference in what we do going forward.”

At the 2022 election, the Liberals gained ground across a number of outer suburbs seats, threatening Labor’s western suburbs stronghold.

They include Werribee, where a looming by-election will put Mr Battin’s new-found leadership to the test.

Amid party gossip, he refused to confirm speculation about who would be in his new shadow cabinet, which he assures will be based purely on merit.

Brighton MP James Newbury has been tipped to replace Brad Rowswell as shadow treasurer, while opposition finance spokesman Jess Wilson could be stripped of the portfolio.

Mr Battin on Saturday said he was open to keeping Mr Pesutto on the front bench.

He now leads an all-male leadership team, after David Davis was reinstated as upper house leader, replacing the only female member, Georgie Crozier.

Mr Battin has held his electorate – 40km away from his predecessor’s Liberal heartland seat of Hawthorn – for 14 years. Picture: Tony Gough

Former tennis pro Sam Groth has been promoted to second in charge, while Evan Mulholland remains upper house deputy leader.

But the Liberal leader doesn’t believe the gender imbalance is a problem.

“I am a personal believer in merit based promotion,” he said.

“I am very confident that we have many women within the party who have already served, who may not have served in a leadership role, that I would be well and truly putting into that shadow cabinet, because they deserve to be there.”

Under Mr Pesutto’s leadership, the former opposition police spokesman had pushed to reinstate move-on powers for police and offences that make it harder for repeat offenders to get bail.

Both will remain top priorities.

Mr Battin said he was also looking at new Queensland Liberal Premier David Crisafulli’s election-winning “adult crime, adult time” policy, particularly associated grassroots rehabilitation programs.

With just months until the federal election, Mr Battin refused to say whether he supported his federal counterpart Peter Dutton’s key commitment to roll out nuclear power.

“That is a big, big decision,” he said, adding that he would need to consult the party room.

He, however, said he would help Mr Dutton, as long as it was in the “best interests of the state”.

Mr Battin says each of his tattoos has a deep significance. Picture: Tony Gough

The pair spoke briefly on Friday following Mr Battin’s win.

It was widely believed that the federal Opposition Leader and Mr Pesutto did not get on.

The new leader’s plan to return the Coalition to government in Victoria in 2026 – 12 years since they lost power – will be firmly focused on cost-of-living, tackling crime and fixing crumbling roads, as well as home ownership.

“What used to be potholes in country towns are now happening through Casey, Cardinia, Point Cook, all of these areas are having issues getting roads fixed,” he said.

A Battin-led government, he explains, would also review property taxes to attract greater investment and give more Victorians a chance at nabbing their first investment property, particularly in the outer suburbs.

“When people get an increase to their tax they pass it on to the renter … the people who can least afford it,” he said.

However, scrapping land tax entirely is currently a policy that is out of the question.

“You can’t come out and say you are going to axe a tax that, at the moment, is currently holding up the budget,” he said.