‘Lost a friendship’: Guy stands by Smith car crash conversations as outgoing MP casts doubt

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy has lamented the loss of his friendship with outgoing Kew MP Tim Smith following Smith’s claim that Guy privately urged him to stay in parliament before sacking him via a press conference over a drink-driving incident in which he crashed his car.

Responding to Smith’s claims on Sunday, Guy stood by his account of conversations with Smith: “I went through so many media conferences at that time [and] answered everything.”

Liberal leader Matthew Guy.Credit: Eddie Jim

Asked directly whether he told the MP to resign, the Coalition leader said: “I went through this chapter and verse 12 months ago. What I said then is what I believe.”

Days after the crash in Hawthorn last October, Guy held a press conference announcing that he met Smith on the Mornington Peninsula and “made it very clear … I didn’t want him to nominate at the next election”.

But Smith told the Sunday Herald Sun that Guy never told him to resign and instead said he wanted him to remain in parliament.

Smith – whom Guy had previously touted as a future Liberal leader – said he had “no knowledge” Guy would call in the press conference for him to step down, and he felt “kicked in the guts and profoundly shocked by the way I was treated”.

Tim Smith in parliament in June.Credit: Justin McManus

In comments that seemingly contradict the statements he made last year about wanting Smith not to recontest his seat at this year’s election, Guy said on Sunday that he “always wanted [Smith] to stay around”, either as a staffer or if Smith “found a way to stay in”.

“It’s the loss of friendship for me,” the opposition leader said. “I’m not going to go over conversations from 12 months ago. I got along with Tim very, very well. He’s not a liar. He’s a good person. I am very sad that I lost a friendship.”

Smith was due to speak at a Liberal Party branch meeting this week, but his appearance was cancelled by the party.

The MP, who gained prominence during the pandemic and was criticised by the new Liberal candidate for Kew on Saturday, announced about a week after the Hawthorn crash that he would not contest the next election.

The Liberals’ new Kew candidate Jess Wilson.Credit: Eddie Jim

He was the party’s shadow attorney-general and a close ally of Guy. Smith helped Guy defeat former leader Michael O’Brien to return to the Liberal Party’s top job after losing the 2018 election.

Renewed debate about the car crash comes as the opposition is spruiking its headline election pitch to shelve the Suburban Rail Loop and divert spending to healthcare, in an attempt to move on from weeks of questions about a donor saga that resulted in the resignation and replacement of Guy’s former chief of staff Mitch Catlin.

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.