Brad Battin replaces John Pesutto as Victorian Liberal leader

The news: Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto has lost his leadership position to Brad Battin, shadow police minister, in a special meeting of the Liberal party room on Friday morning where a spill motion was raised.

Nepean MP Sam Groth will be deputy leader.

Battin has promised to focus on cost of living, crime, the state's finances and infrastructure as priorities in the role.

The context: The meeting was originally called to debate the readmission of Moira Deeming into the Victorian Liberal Party. Deeming had successfully sued Pesutto for defamation, being awarded $315,000 in damages, after he aimed to expel her from the party on the basis of her attending an anti-trans rights rally in 2023. Deeming says she does not hold anti-trans views. That rally was reportedly crashed by neo-Nazis.

What they said: "I’m very thankful for the support I’ve got from my colleagues in the party room today to ensure that we could come out united and get on message with the message we need to have. We know Victorians are hurting," Battin said.