Liberal Christmas cracker; this is a sh*t show’

Victorian Liberals are descending deeper into civil war as the world celebrates Christmas.

Victorian Liberal Party leader John Pesutto and Brad Battin, who sources say is on the brink of locking in a deal to give him majority support within the party room.

Victorian Liberal MPs are descending into full blown Christmas Day civil war, with leadership favourite Brad Battin’s camp branded “rebels” as embattled John Pesutto makes what could be one of his final plays as opposition leader.

Amid a bitter internal stand-off ahead of Friday’s party room vote, Liberal MPs loyal to shadow finance minister and moderate Jess Wilson are furious at what they claim is the Battin camp’s moves to shut her out of the likely new leadership team.

“In a characteristically nasty move, the ‘rebels’ wanted to bring the party room meeting forward to this Friday to deliberately disenfranchise key Jess backers who are currently away,” one Liberal MP told The Australian.

“Well, now the ball game has changed. Here’s yet another opportunity to do the best thing and move on from this sh*t show in a unified and dignified way. It’s now in Brad’s court.”

The Liberal MP was referring to a Christmas Eve move by Mr Pesutto to allow at least two MPs who are away on holiday to vote remotely in Friday’s meeting. Traditionally, MPs could only vote if they attended in person.

In an email to all MPs on Tuesday, Mr Pesutto said he was going to allow absent MPs to vote in the meeting which will also consider whether to allow ousted Liberal MP Moira Deeming back into the party room.

Mr Pesutto told colleagues that as leader, he could “determine whether such exceptional circumstances exist that a meeting should be held remotely”.

“I have sought advice from the Shadow Attorney-General who advises that it is open to me in the circumstances to exercise the authority to enable remote participation,” he wrote.

“Given the time of year, I had called this meeting for 15 January 2025 so that all members could participate in person.

“To enfranchise all members of the Parliamentary Party for this Friday’s meeting, I therefore invoke clause 10 and have requested that the State Director (cc’d) devise the appropriate ballot format as required by the First Schedule. I strongly recommend that all members attend in person.”

Despite Mr Pesutto’s move, it’s unlikely he can survive in the top job and it’s unclear whether he will even stand top defend his position. But some are interpreting the inclusion of the absent MPs as being favourable to Ms Wilson’s hopes of becoming deputy leader.

Some Liberal MPs have been angered by Mr Pesutto’slate move, with Brighton MP James Newbury telling colleagues the party constitution “does not provide the Leader with the power to offer a remote meeting where a Member is on holidays and given five full days’ notice of the meeting”.

“It is clear that a holiday does not make it “impossible” for a Member to return for the meeting,” Mr Newbury stated.

Mr Battin, a member of the party’s conservative faction, remains the favourite to replace Mr Pesutto as he edges closer to stitching up the numbers.

The moderates had been pushing for Ms Wilson to be promoted into the deputy leadership in a unifying gesture by Mr Battin, but these hopes appear to have been dashed on Monday with former tennis ace Sam Groth now expected to get the senior job.

“It’s disappointing that the incoming leader has stepped away from a unity deal that’s in the best interests of the Liberal Party and all Victorians,” one senior Liberal MP told The Australian.

“Victorians want to see political leaders that reflect their communities; they want to see young and capable women in positions of leadership.

“At the first opportunity, the incoming leader has failed to guarantee that his leadership team will reflect Victorians.

“Party unity has been made all the more challenging because the incoming leader simply doesn’t have a disciplined grip on the actions of his supporters.”

Former Liberal MP Moira Deeming. Picture: NewsWire/Ian Currie

Another Liberal MP said the moderates had only themselves to blame as Ms Wilson had failed to build strong relationships across the party room since being elected in 2022, and over the past week had pushed too hard for the leadership rather than aim for the deputy leadership.

Multiple Liberal sources have told The Australian Mr Battin — the MP for the outer southeastern seat of Berwick and a father of two — was on the brink of locking in a deal to give him majority support within the party room.

Mr Battin was elected the MP for Gembrook in 2010 and when that seat was abolished he was elected in the seat of Berwick in 2022.

Before entering politics, Mr Battin was a police officer and after he left the force he owned a Bakers Delight in Wheelers Hill. He has told parliament that this helped him understand the challenges of small business.

A growing number of Liberal MPs, including some Pesutto loyalists, reached the conclusion over the weekend that his leadership was terminal and his only course of action was to quit to avoid putting the party through more pain.

On Sunday, Mr Pesutto remained defiant, telling The Australian that he believed he deserved the chance to contest two by-elections in February. “Our work has seen us continue our rise as an alternative government even with internal challenges. Let’s maintain our focus and direction,” he said.

But it’s believed that as of Monday afternoon, Mr Pessuto had accepted that his leadership was over and all that was left was to choose the timing and manner of his resignation.

As high-stakes negotiations to secure Mr Battin the Liberal leadership continued on Monday, The Australian believes the 49-year-old had locked in at least 17 votes. While the party room has 30 MPs, as many as four are expected to be away on Christmas leave and not attend.

In another twist that could benefit Mr Battin, it’s expected that the first order of business at Friday’s meeting will be to vote on a motion to invite ousted Liberal MP Moira Deeming back into the fold.

With the vote now expected to go in Mrs Deeming’s favour, this means she will get to cast a vote on the leadership, and will presumably back Mr Battin.

The Australian has confirmed that Mr Pesutto’s Sunday gamble to backflip on blocking Mrs Deeming’s re-entry into the party room has only deepened the crisis engulfing his leadership.

Mr Pesutto’s switch left his supporters blindsided and comes after Mrs Deeming’s emphatic victory in her defamation case against Mr Pesutto in the Federal Court saw her awarded $315,000. The Opposition Leader will also have to pay most of her legal costs, which could run into a seven-figure sum.