New Lib leadership ends Southwick’s deputy role
Jewish MP David Southwick's time as deputy leader of the Victorian Liberal Party has ended after a leadership change.
The Victorian Liberal Party has new leadership and Caulfield MP David Southwick is no longer deputy leader after a December 27 party room meeting that readmitted MP Moira Deeming to the Parliamentary team.
In the festive season upheaval, shadow police minister and MP for Berwick Brad Battin has been elected as party leader and Nepean MP Sam Groth as his deputy.
Southwick had been elected as deputy leader in September 2021, and drove important multicultural reforms such as a ban on Nazi symbols, which was later adopted by the Andrews government.
He remains as MP for Caulfield and co-chair – with Labor MP Paul Hamer — of the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Israel
In a statement after the meeting, Southwick said, “It has been an immense privilege to serve as deputy leader … I have worked tirelessly to position our party for success at the next election.
“But there is still much work to be done and I am fully committed to that task.
“Loyalty in both good times and bad is important to me and I am proud of the steadfast loyalty I demonstrated as deputy leader to both John Pesutto and Matthew Guy.
“Most imortantly, to the people of Caulfield, I will never stop fighting for you as your local MP.
“After 10 years under [Premier] Jacinta Allan and Labor, Victorians are ready for change. I know that under the leadership of Brad Battin, the Liberal Party will deliver the fresh start and strong leadership that our state needs and deserves.”
Battin emerged from Friday’s meeting, thanking Pesutto for his leadership and his work as MP for Hawthorn.
“We now have an obligation to move forward,” Battin told media. “I’m very thankful for the support of my colleagues within the party room today to make sure that we can come out united and getting on with the message we need to have.
“We know Victorians are hurting,” said Battin, noting “the cost of living crisis”.
Pesutto left the meeting flanked by Southwick, Pesutto stating, “I’m a servant of the people of Hawthorn and a servant of my party room and my party”.
Friday’s events followed an earlier vote by the Liberals to keep Deeming out of the Parliamentary party but the 14-14 vote on December 20, meant the decision rested on Pesutto’s casting vote and left MPs discontented with the outcome.
Deeming’s expulsion came after rising tensions between her and and the party, and her nine-month suspension, relating to a 2023 Let Women Speak rally she helped to organise on the steps of Parliament, which attracted neo-Nazis who gave salutes.
However, Deeming this month won a Federal Court defamation action against Pesutto over his implication she sympathised with Nazis.
After the December 20 party ballot on readmitting Deeming, Pesutto had said it “marks a bookend to this issue”.
However, supporters of a Deeming reinstatement, including Liberal MP Bill Tilley, one of five MPs who signed the motion for her return, left that meeting disappointed and Deeming told media she did not think the issue was over.
There were widespread reports that some federal Liberals feared distractions relating to Pesutto’s ongoing leadership could dampen the Coalition’s prospects in Victoria in what is expected to be a knife-edge federal election next year.
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