Jess Wilson becomes Victorian Liberal leader
Jess Wilson has become the first woman to lead the Victorian Liberal Party.
Kew MP Jess Wilson has become the first woman to lead the Victorian Liberal Party, after Liberal MPs on Tuesday voted to replace Brad Battin.
A motion to spill the leadership had 19 votes to 13, and after the spill Wilson was elected unopposed. Sam Groth will remain deputy leader after a challenge from Caulfield MP David Southwick, in which Groth received 17 votes to Southwick’s 15.
After being elected leader, Wilson told the media she was focused on getting the budget under control, ending crime, improving access to healthcare and making home ownership more accessible. At just 35 years of age and a young mum, Wilson said her leadership represented a “new generation Liberal team.”
Southwick told The AJN, “Jess has been a strong and consistent friend of the Jewish community. Since the day she entered Parliament, she has stood with our community, listened carefully to our concerns and shown genuine commitment to our safety and wellbeing. She has visited Israel, strengthened important relationships and made it clear that she will never shy away from defending the values we share.
“In recent times, when many in public life have gone missing, Jess has shown moral clarity and unwavering support for Victorian Jews. Her leadership will bring stability, purpose and respect. I look forward to working with her to ensure our community is protected and Victoria has the strong future it deserves.”
Before entering Parliament in 2022, Wilson worked as a senior adviser to then-federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and later as the Business Council of Australia’s head of energy and climate policy.
Her father Ron Wilson was also a state Liberal MP, and she was president of the Monash University Liberal Club and state president of the Victorian Young Liberals.
Wilson is aligned with moderate Liberals, and was the only Victorian Liberal MP to support the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Zionism Victoria president Elyse Shachna congratulated Wilson and said Zionism Victoria “looks forward to constructive engagement with the Opposition on matters important to Victorian Jews and all Victorians”
In March this year, Wilson addressed the Jewish community on International Women’s Day and said: “The treatment of Jewish women by the global sisterhood is deeply disappointing and truly concerning.
“‘Me too, except if you are a Jew,’ I know many of you have been saying. Well for what it’s worth, I am proud to stand with the Jewish community, and with Jewish women today and with Israel always.”