Federal Liberals weigh takeover of Victorian party ‘shambles’

Horror state election result and brawling over former Liberal MP Moira Deeming has Federal Liberals investigating external control of the Victorian party.

Brawling over the future of former Liberal MP Moira Deeming has federal Liberals worried about the state party. Picture: Arsineh Houspian.

A special administrator would be appointed to take over the crippled Victorian Liberal Party under a strategy put to the federal organisation that would require backing by local decision-makers.

Senior federal Liberals are debating whether to push ahead with federal intervention of the Victorian division, which could include a small committee of management to run the party for an extended period to help Peter Dutton win the next election.

The party’s federal hierarchy believes any intervention would need the support of state president Greg Mirabella and the state party’s administrative committee, which could lose its powers if an intervention took place.

The prospect of an administrator running the strife-torn division is being discussed at the highest levels of the party, according to multiple sources, but there is a split in Victoria among MPs about whether it should go ahead.

Under the Liberal Party’s federal rules, it is possible for the ­national organisation to intervene if it believes the performance of a state branch could impact a federal election result.

The federal Opposition Leader has discussed the possibility of an intervention but party elders are worried that without organisational support from Victoria, it could get challenged in the courts. Mr Mirabella did not comment.

State leader John Pesutto has said he did not believe an intervention was necessary.

Victorian federal MPs are also divided over the efficacy of an intervention, although former federal director Brian Loughnane has been floated by some senior figures as a potential candidate for the position.

“The problem is the state parliamentary party. It’s a total shambles and so is the organisation,’’ a federal MP said. “Are things so bad we need to press the nuclear button? That’s the question.’’

Another federal figure familiar with discussions said there was “genuine shock’’ at how Labor in Victoria was being left with minimal opposition.

One senior Liberal said intervention would not fix the problems in the state parliamentary party. “There is no appetite for intervention because it wouldn’t resolve issues in the parliamentary party,’’ the MP said.

The federal Liberal Party is deeply concerned about the performance in Victoria at both a ­national and state level, having lost the recent federal Aston by-election amid brawling in the state party over the future of former Liberal MP Moira Deeming.

The state parliamentary party split over whether Ms Deeming should have been expelled, with an 11-19 vote last Friday.

More broadly, support for her among traditional powerbrokers is more tepid, with figures associated with so-called moderates having backed her preselection.

This is despite Ms Deeming advocating causes of which Mr Pesutto, a moderate, does not approve. She was endorsed before he returned to the parliament.

Senior party sources said Ms Deeming’s legal action against Mr Pesutto had diminished her support but she would probably remain in the party because it was organisationally difficult to remove a rank and file member.

Multiple sources said the decision to oust Ms Deeming after she attended an anti-transgender rights rally that was gate-crashed by neo-Nazis was a step too far.

“Now we are cleaning up the mess,’’ an MP said.

Mr Dutton has left open the possibility of intervention. “I wouldn’t rule out federal intervention and I make it very clear to the Victorian division that I want this mess sorted out as quickly as possible,” he told ABC’s RN Breakfast this month. “My interest is in getting the matters that are in the press at the moment resolved because it doesn’t help our brand. It doesn’t reflect on broader party movements.”

The mechanism for intervening in Victoria is if the Liberal Party’s federal executive decides there are circumstances that would prejudice the party’s ability to effectively contest or win a federal election.

The Liberal Party now holds just three seats federally in Melbourne’s metropolitan area and suffered another thumping loss at last year’s state election.

The party’s new state director, Stuart Smith, is due to start imminently after leaving Western Australia, which has also suffered significant electoral challenges.