2025 Victorian Liberal Party leadership spill

2025 Victorian Liberal Party
leadership spill

←  2024 18 November 2025

Spill motion

Candidate Spill motion Brad Battin Popular vote 19 13 Seat – Berwick Faction – Conservative

Leadership election

Candidate Jess Wilson Caucus vote Unopposed Seat Kew Faction Moderate

Leader before election Brad Battin Elected Leader Jess Wilson

Deputy Leadership election

Candidate Sam Groth David Southwick Caucus vote 17 [1] 15 [1] Seat Nepean Caulfield Faction Unaligned [a] Moderate

Deputy before election Sam Groth Elected Deputy Sam Groth

The 2025 Victorian Liberal Party leadership spill was held on 18 November 2025 to elect the leader of the Victorian Liberal Party and, ex officio, Leader of the Opposition. ^[7]

Following a successful leadership spill against Brad Battin, Jess Wilson was elected as leader unopposed. ^[1] As the position of deputy was spilled alongside the leader, Sam Groth was challenged by David Southwick, winning by 17 votes to 15. ^[1]

Background

Following the resignation of senior Liberal MPs Michael O'Brien and David Hodgett, on 11 October 2025, a reshuffle of Battin's shadow ministry occurred. ^[8] The reshuffle saw three first term MPs, Nicole Werner, Nick McGowan, and Richard Welch. ^{[8] [9]} It also saw the promotion of former primary challenger Jess Wilson to the Shadow Treasurer portfolio, taking over from Battin ally James Newbury. ^[10] Battin marketed this as a part of the Victorian coalition's 'fresh start', following a slipping performance in opinion polls. ^[10] The reshuffle was criticised for promoting factional allies of Battin, rather than deserving individuals within the party. ^[10]

Renewed leadership tensions ensued from the reshuffle, with both moderate and conservative factions expressing unhappiness with the decisions made by Battin. ^[11] Speculation arose that Wilson or another Liberal MP would challenge Battin, however Wilson initially refused. ^[11]

On 17 November 2025, ABC News reported that a cross-factional delegation of Liberal MPs informed Battin that he had lost the support of the party room and that it understood that Wilson would nominate for the leadership of the party in a spill the following morning. ^[12]

Candidates

Leadership

Nominated

Candidate			Electorate	Faction	Portfolio(s)
		Jess Wilson [13]	Kew	Moderate [14]	Shadow Treasurer (2025–present)

Deputy leadership

Nominated

Candidate			Electorate	Faction	Portfolio(s)
		Sam Groth	Nepean	Unaligned [a]	Deputy Leader of the Opposition (2024–present) Shadow Minister for Public Transport (2024–present) Shadow Minister for Ports and Freight (2024–present) Shadow Minister for Aviation (2024–present)
		David Southwick	Caulfield	Moderate [15]	Shadow Minister for Police and Corrections (2024–present) Shadow Minister for Crime Prevention (2024–present) Deputy Leader of the Opposition (2021–2024)

Results

Spill motion

2025 Victorian Liberal Party leadership spill: Spill motion

Faction		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Spill motion		19 [1]	59.4
	Conservative	Brad Battin	13 [1]	40.6
Total votes			32	100.0

Leader

2025 Victorian Liberal Party leadership spill: Leader

Faction		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Moderate	Jess Wilson	unopposed
Total votes			32	100.0

Deputy leader

2025 Victorian Liberal Party leadership spill: Deputy leader

Faction		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Sam Groth	17 [1]	53.1
	Moderate	David Southwick	15 [1]	46.9
Total votes			32	100.0

Notes

1. Sam Groth is factionally unaligned, ^[2] but has also been considered Conservative. ^[3] Some sources have labelled him a Moderate, ^{[2] [4]} however the Geelong Advertiser and The Age reported that the only Moderate elected to a leadership position in 2024 was Evan Mulholland. ^{[5] [6]}

References

1. "Victorian Liberal MPs choose Jess Wilson as new opposition leader". ABC News . 18 November 2025. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
2. Bowe, William (28 December 2024). "Passing the Battin". The Poll Bludger. Archived from the original on 28 December 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024. But whereas Battin had solid support from conservatives, Wilson's maneuvering against Pesutto led to a split among moderates, with Brighton MP James Newbury entering a deal in which he would take Treasury and the unaligned Sam Groth would become deputy. Groth was indeed elected deputy unopposed, replacing another moderate, Caulfield MP David Southwick
3. Melzer, Max (26 December 2024). "'I will be a candidate': Jess Wilson makes bid for Victorian Liberal leadership after Brad Battin's John Pesutto challenge". Sky News Australia. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
4. Sakkal, Paul (3 December 2022). "Libs must shun radical right, says new MP as sparks fly on internal leaks". The Age. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
5. White, Alex (27 December 2024). "Can Battin's team of convenience lead Libs into 2026 election?". Geelong Advertiser. Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
6. Jaeger, Carla; Carmody, Broede (27 December 2024). "Brad Battin, having rolled Pesutto, promises unity and makes election pitch". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
7. Eddie, Rachel; Le Grand, Chip (17 November 2025). "Victorian Liberal Party spill is on as Brad Battin challenged". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 17 November 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
8. Yu, Andi (11 October 2025). "Victorian opposition unveils new shadow cabinet ahead of 2026 state election". ABC News. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
9. Eddie, Chip Le Grand, Rachel (10 October 2025). "State opposition reshuffle renews leadership tensions" . The Age. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
10. Ilanbey, Sumeyya (11 October 2025). "Battin shuffles Victorian opposition (cue internal tension)" . Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
11. Willingham, Richard (17 October 2025). "Less than a year in, Victoria's opposition leader may be on borrowed time". ABC News. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
12. Willingham, Richard (17 November 2025). "Victorian Liberal leader Brad Battin facing leadership challenge". ABC News. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
13. Grand, Rachel Eddie, Chip Le (17 November 2025). "Victorian Liberal Party spill is on as Brad Battin challenged". The Age. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
14. Kolovos, Benita (23 December 2024). "With John Pesutto's days as Victorian Liberal leader likely numbered, will it be third time lucky for Brad Battin?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 December 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
15. Browne, Ashley (4 November 2022). "Southwick eyes a difficult race for Caulfield". The Jewish Independent. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.