Liberal MP Brad Battin to challenge leader John Pesutto after Boxing Day call

A surprise phone call on Boxing Day has paved the way for a showdown over the Liberal Party leadership in one Australian state.

Melbourne MP Brad Battin will make a play for the Victorian Liberal Party’s top job following a shock Boxing Day call to embattled party leader, John Pesutto.

Mr Battin is expected to challenge Mr Pesutto at a high-stakes meeting of the state’s Liberal Party on Friday, after personally informing him of the move on Thursday.

Senior Liberal sources told The Australian of the move, adding that the shadow police minister was a favourite to replace Mr Pesutto and had the votes to do so.

Victorian opposition police minister Brad Battin will make a play for the leadership. Picture NCA NewsWire / Aaron Francis

It comes after a bruising few weeks for Mr Pesutto, who lost a lengthy legal battle with ousted Liberal MP Moira Deeming, who successfully sued him for defamation.

Mr Pesutto apologised to Ms Deeming after the Federal Court found he had defamed her as a Nazi sympathiser following an anti-transgender rally in Melbourne last year.

Judge David O’Callaghan ruled Mr Pesutto defamed Ms Deeming in multiple interviews which caused “serious harm to her reputation”.

Ms Deeming was expelled from the parliamentary party after threatening legal action against Mr Pesutto, but she remains a member of the broader party.

Liberal leader John Pesutto is not expected to survive the contest. Picture: NewsWire/Ian Currie

It comes after a court found he had defamed Liberal MP Moira Deeming. Picture: NewsWire/Ian Currie

Her readmittance to the party will also be voted upon at the Friday party meeting, just a week after a near-identical motion failed due to a 14-all votes deadlock.

The special meeting slated for Friday was signed by opposition ministers James Newbury, Bridget Vallence, Richard Riordan, Brad Batting, and Sam Groth.

The Australian reported Mr Pesutto is unlikely to be able to stay in the top job, even after he allowed two MPs to vote via video call while away on holidays.

Mr Battin, a member of the party’s conservative faction and former police officer, was Member for Gembrook from 2010 until 2022 when the seat was abolished.