Pesutto could face leadership challenge as early as next week, Liberals say

The leadership of the Victorian Liberal Party is trying to head off rumblings of a challenge as fallout continues from the high-stakes defamation battle between dumped Liberal MP Moira Deeming and leader John Pesutto.

Tensions in the party room remain high after several weeks in court, where about a quarter of the party room faced cross-examination, while other MPs were dragged into the civil suit with private text messages and emails produced as evidence.

Georgie Crozier, who faced cross-examination last week, says “no one else” can do the jobCredit: Joe Armao

While the case has fractured the 30-member team, members of the leadership team are rallying around Pesutto, with MPs from across party factions now confident Pesutto will face a leadership challenge as soon as next Tuesday when MPs meet at Parliament House ahead of the sitting week.

Frontbench MP Georgie Crozier, the Liberal Party leader in the Upper House, told The Age: “No one else can do a better job.”

“The question everyone must ask is, who is best to maximise our electoral prospects in 2026? The answer is John Pesutto,” Crozier said.

“We are 10 points ahead in the polls even with the court case hanging over us, and now it’s behind us.”

The latest Resolve Political Monitor for The Age put support for the Coalition at 37 per cent – 10 points ahead of the Allan government – and Pesutto now just one point shy of Premier Jacinta Allan as preferred premier.

But the defamation trial angered Liberal MPs across both the moderate and conservative factions, with many now insisting that Pesutto should have worked harder to settle the dispute and avoid the trial, which has been airing the party’s dirty laundry.

“He should have done more to settle. It never had to get to this stage,” one frontbench MP told The Age on Sunday.

The Age has spoken with nine MPs from the state Liberal Party in recent days, on the condition of anonymity to discuss the party’s internal woes, as well as senior party figures. Most MPs now believe there is enough support for a spill motion next Tuesday.

While there is no clear candidate to take over as leader in the event the spill is successful, MPs broadly believe support is split between frontbenchers Brad Battin and Sam Groth.

Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto at a press conference in July with Sam Groth, who is considered a contender for the leadership position Credit: Eamon Gallagher

Sandringham MP Brad Rowswell and Brighton MP James Newbury had also been identified as leadership contenders, but MPs believe Newbury would struggle to unite the broader Coalition after Deeming revealed his stance on duck hunting risked blowing up the Coalition deal in January 2023.

The spill is also expected to target other members of the leadership team, including deputy leader David Southwick and Georgie Crozier. It comes after the court was played a 70-minute recording – secretly recorded by Southwick – of the party leadership reprimanding Deeming after she attended the Let Women Speak rally in 2023.

In court, Southwick defended his decision to secretly record a meeting claiming it was to “protect” himself. But his colleagues say the decision to tape the meeting, and then keep it from colleagues, has infuriated MPs.

Another frontbench MP told The Age that to avoid a leadership challenge, both Pesutto and Southwick would need to “restore trust” across the party. On Sunday, some of Pesutto’s closest supporters insisted the party hasn’t been united in recent years and the case hadn’t substantially changed allegiances.

The opposition leader’s office was contacted for comment.

An earlier spill motion, before the planned October 15 meeting, had also been touted as an option by detractors, but several MPs remain on leave this week meaning they would miss a ballot if it were held on Friday or Monday – the earliest possible options under party rules.

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