Jess Wilson to run fiscal argument, but shuns former leader John Pesutto in reshuffle
New Liberal leader Jess Wilson will retain the treasury portfolio, but failed to elevate John Pesutto to the frontbench in the aftermath of the Moira Deeming legal saga.
New Victorian Liberal leader Jess Wilson has retained the treasury portfolio but shunned her former boss John Pesutto in a reshuffled frontbench she plans to take to the 2026 election.
Ms Wilson has mirrored the role of former Labor leader Steve Bracks in 1999, taking on both the leadership and the treasury portfolio as part of her ambition to win the election.
With the latest Newspoll giving Ms Wilson hope of victory, she has defined budget repair as the No.1 issue for her leadership, warning critical services will not be able to be provided unless debt is under control.
State debt in Victoria is forecast to hit nearly $200bn by 2028-29.
The reshuffle came on the same day that Premier Jacinta Allan attended the soft opening of the $15bn new Melbourne underground rail system, which includes five new stations but also opens up the broader network to more capacity.
The underground is likely to be Labor’s peak infrastructure achievement, much of the rest of the Big Build beset by budget overruns and lengthy delays.
Ms Wilson said that she wanted to lead the argument on the need to fix the state’s finances.
“Victoria’s finances are in the red,’’ she said. “People know that Victoria is broke.”
The decision to exclude Mr Pesutto from the frontbench is a bitter blow to the former leader, who is still dealing with the fallout from his very public spat with Upper House MP Moira Deeming.
Victorian Liberal Party’s loaned Mr Pesutto $1.5m to help cover $2.3m in legal costs owed to Ms Deeming after she won a defamation case against him.
It was approved by the Victorian Liberal Party’s administrative committee but is now being contested legally by some Liberals.
The row has split the party, with strong support among moderates for the inner-city MP but equally strong support for Ms Deeming by conservatives.
The decision to leave Mr Pesutto off the frontbench is symptomatic of the brawling that continues, with the former leader widely seen as a strong frontbench option.
Asked about the failure to elevate Mr Pesutto, Ms Wilson said she intended to keep her new frontbench until the election, in a further setback for the Pesutto supporters.
“Well, the team we put forward today is the team that I want to take to the election,’’ she said.
Ms Wilson has handed former leader Brad Battin – there are several former leaders in the partyroom – the police and corrections portfolio.
Mr Battin is a former policeman and was widely judged to have effectively taken on Labor over Victoria’s crime wave.
Ironically, he lost the leadership this month in part because of a perception of too much focus on crime, even though it was the No.1 media issue at the time.
David Southwick will be planning and housing and building spokesman, issues that are central to any re-elected Coalition government but MP Richard Riordan – a very solid performer – is now a backbencher.
Another former leader, Matthew Guy, will be public transport and ports and freight spokesman. Public transport is usually one of the highest-profile ministries.
Mr Guy had also been seen as a potential replacement for Mr Battin before Ms Wilson materialised.
The indefatigable David Davis retains energy and resources and high-profile health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier retains her frontbench portfolio.
Ms Wilson, who took over on November 18, established a commanding 47-33 lead as preferred premier in an exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian.
The Coalition’s 51-49 two-party-preferred result also marked the first time in 12 years it was ahead in the poll.
A year out from the next state election, primary support for the Allan government slumped to 28 per cent, down from 35 per cent in June and 37 per cent at the 2022 election.
But Ms Wilson must pick up 16 seats to win an absolute majority.
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