Kennett to seek bloodless transition in return to state politics

Jeff Kennett’s return to state politics is likely to take shape next week when he meets with Victorian Liberal Party president Robert Clark to discuss a friendly takeover of the party’s administrative wing.

Mr Kennett, the only Liberal to lead a full-term government in Victoria for the past 40 years, confirmed he was open to becoming the party’s next state president if he had broad support across rival groupings and Mr Clark was prepared to work alongside him in a senior role.

Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett on a potential return to politics as state party president: “If it happens, it will have been guided, supported and worked through by many people. There will be no blood on the floor.” Credit: The Age

“If there is going to be a change it will be a transition; it won’t be a challenge,” Mr Kennett said. “It is not going to be a repeat of what happened in the parliamentary party.

“If it happens, it will have been guided, supported and worked through by many people. There will be no blood on the floor, there will be no standing down or anything of that nature.”

Mr Kennett said Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien, having comfortably defeated this week’s party room challenge by Brad Battin, now had “clear air” in which to operate.

“It is now entirely in his hands as to how he performs and how he leads,” Mr Kennett said.

Supporters of Mr O’Brien believe the amateurish nature of Mr Battin’s attempted spill galvanised his support and reduced the likelihood of another challenge before the November 2022 poll.

Mr Kennett has arranged to this week meet with Mr Clark, a former state attorney-general who he described as an honourable person and friend from their time together in government, to discuss the work of the party administration and his own plans for party renewal.

“If I was to take the task, Robert would continue to serve on the admin committee as the immediate past president and we would have a continuing relationship. There is no point doing all of this unless, in my opinion, there is agreement across the rank and file and across the leaders of the party.”

Mr Kennett, 73, was last year re-elected to serve a further three seasons as the president of his AFL club, Hawthorn.

The earliest a transition can take place at the top of the Victorian Liberal Party is likely to be April or May. It would require a meeting of state council, a body of more than 1000 delegates which has not gathered since 2019 due to pandemic restrictions.

The party’s individual electorates are currently holding AGMs to elect office holders including delegates to the next state council.

Mr Clark, a parliamentary secretary to Mr Kennett’s treasurer Alan Stockdale before he served as a minister in the Baillieu and Napthine governments, agreed to take over the presidency from Michael Kroger in the aftermath of the disastrous 2018 election campaign. He has led the effort to cleanse the party of the residual influence of Mr Kroger’s former ally, Marcus Bastiaan, reinstate democratic preselections for state and federal candidates and restore the party’s stricken finances.

Mr Bastiaan resigned from the party last year following an investigation by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes into the internal operations of the Victorian Liberals. The investigation triggered a KordaMentha audit of all party memberships which revealed systematic breaches of party rules.

Mr Kroger has previously sought to remove Mr Clark as president. He has now made it clear to supporters that he would back a Kennett presidency, raising the prosect of a ceasefire between the party’s warring tribes. Even a loose alliance between Mr Kennett and Mr Kroger would be akin to peace in the Middle East; their deep, mutual and longstanding animosity is legendary in Victorian politics.

“This isn’t a rush of blood,” Mr Kennett said. “This is actually a very interesting coming together of a whole lot of people who for the first time in a long time are putting the party’s interests first.″⁣

Mr Clark has not indicated whether he would be prepared to make way for Mr Kennett but he is likely to welcome an end to the party’s internecine feuding.

On the same day as the March 4 Justice protests, women on the administrative committee were subjected to misogynistic, anonymous attacks published on a website registered to an overseas domain. Liberal headquarters is currently investigating the provenance of the site, which is savage in its criticism of Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien and Mr Clark.

There are concerns within Liberal circles that having a high profile, outspoken president such as Mr Kennett could undermine the parliamentary leadership. One senior Liberal MP noted that complaining about Mr Kennett attracting headlines was like a sailor complaining about the sea.

“Jeff’s Jeff,” the MP said. “What are you going to do?”

Start your day informed

Our Morning Edition newsletter is a curated guide to the most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.