Brad Battin: a ‘tattooed daggy dad’ with a tough-on-crime agenda
Meet Brad Battin – a copper turned Bakers Delight owner turned ambitious politician.
If the Victorian Liberal Party’s future lies in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, then Brad Battin is the opposition leader from central casting to take on Jacinta Allan in the 2026 state election.
An ex-copper and former Bakers Delight owner, Battin is an authentic outer suburban guy and a father-of-two with a pretty good “daggy dad” routine as a politician thrown in.
Battin, 49, grew up in the outer southeastern suburbs he now represents as the member for Berwick and policed suburban streets as a senior constable, so it should come as no surprise that on Friday as the newly elected alternative premier, he stuck to what he knows best and identified growth corridors as the central focus of his strategy to defeat Labor.
Battin left school at just 15. He had grown up wanting to be a cop and in those days finishing high school wasn’t a prerequisite for wearing the uniform, so he dumped the classroom and worked in various jobs before he was old enough to join Victoria Police.
As an adult, Battin returned to complete his education with a Diploma in Public Safety, Graduate Diploma in Adolescent Health and Welfare and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA).
He’s coached at the Berwick junior footy club, been the president of the Clematis Country Fire Authority brigade, been a fundraising chair for the Fred Hollows Foundation and since 2010 has been the MP for Gembrook and then Berwick.
There’s nothing overly polished about Battin the would-be premier. He was nervous and sweaty at his first press conference as leader on Friday. But Steve Bracks was also nervous and dripping in his early days as leader in 1999 and he would go on to take Labor to three famous state election victories.
Battin is very different from the Liberals who hail from the party’s inner-eastern suburban heartland. There was no silver spoon in his house growing up.
Something else also sets him apart from most of the other 30 Liberal MPs he now leads; large
tattoos on both arms.
On his left is a Japanese-inspired tribute to his wife, Jo, and children.
On his right are two tattoos. One a tribute to his brother-in-law who died of asthma at just 18 and the second a tribute to people living with or lost to brain cancer.
As the shadow minister for police, Mr Battin often presents a serious appearance to the public and has a no-nonsense approach to law-and-order and talks regularly in terms of zero tolerance for street crime, increased penalties and consistency in sentencing.
But aside from the serious business, as the local member in an electorate filled with suburban dads and mums, he’s also happy to have a laugh at his own expense.
As a pollie, he’s been dunked at showgrounds and even had a crack at catwalk fashion modelling clad in a tight black shirt.
Battin wears his time in a police uniform — he was a senior constable specialising in local youth issues and liquor licensing — and small businessman, owning and operating a Bakers Delight in Wheelers Hill, with pride.
After taking over the leadership on Friday, Battin repeatedly drew on his experience as a copper and small business owner.
“I’m a former police officer, I’m a former small business owner, and I’m a family man with two children,” was how he introduced himself to Victorians for the first time as their alternative premier.
“I understand the pressures placed on small businesses when governments make decisions, particularly around taxes. Every time a small business is charged more tax, customers are charged more.”
Battin made it clear that he believes his life-experience “on the road” as a police officer will help shape him as a leader and the policies he takes to the next state election.
“I’ve had the position where I’ve had to be on the road — reactive and proactive — and I can stand here today saying as a former police officer, proactive patrols are the best way to reduce crime.”
Battin’s opening remarks as opposition leader were not a huge departure from his inaugural speech to parliament after being elected in 2010. Back then he also made a point of stamping himself as a champion of small businesses and proudly spoke of his history as a state school student.
“As a small-business owner of a Bakers Delight store for three years, I understand the effects of governing and the impact of cost increases on these small to medium businesses ... the Liberal philosophy is and always has been about reducing the taxation burden, reducing tax on families, on singles, on those on a fixed income and on businesses,” he said, before adding “I am a proud member of the Liberal Party and the party’s values”.
“I believe if you work hard, you should be rewarded. I believe in lean governments that interfere less with our lives and businesses. I believe in rewarding those who try rather than trying to put in limits and preventing attempts,” he said.
Critics in the Liberal Party often describe him as being a leader of the “right-wing, Christian faction” whose politics will not help win votes in the inner-suburban heartland seats such as Hawthorn, Kew and Prahran.
On Thursday, one of his supporters described this characterisation as “simplistic crap”, saying he was a voice for small business, small government and outer suburban families.
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