Bradley William Battin (born 12 December 1975)[1] is an Australian politician who has served as the leader of the Victorian Liberal Party since 27 December 2024,[2] and as member for Berwick in the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2022. He was previously the member for Gembrook from 2010 until the seat was abolished in 2022 following the 2021 redistribution.
Battin was first elected as the member for Gembrook at the November 2010 state election and was re-elected in 2014 and 2018. Following a redistribution causing the seat of Gembrook to be abolished,Battin was elected to the new seat of Berwick at the 2022 election.
In 2014,following the defeat of the Napthine government,Battin was promoted to the new Shadow Cabinet under Matthew Guy as the Shadow Minister for Emergency Services and Environment.[5] In 2017,he was appointed the first Victorian Shadow Minister for the Building Industry while retaining the Emergency Services portfolio.[6] During his time as Shadow Minister for Emergency Services he made an inaccurate statement to Parliament regarding a supposed lack of "career firefighters" on the ground during the first hours of the Black Saturday bushfires. His statement was unsupported by the findings of the Royal Commission that investigated and reported on the events and his comments were roundly criticised as offensive by firefighters who had participated in defending against the fire,with Battin later apologising for his mistake on social media.[7][8]
In 2020,Battin moved to Shadow Minister for Youth Justice,Shadow Minister for Crime Prevention,Shadow Minister for Victim Support,Shadow Minister for Roads (Metro),Shadow Minister for Road Safety and the TAC.[9]
In December 2024,following internal party fractures over the banning of Moira Deeming from the Liberal party room,and the loss of a defamation case by then-leader John Pesutto,Battin called for and won the leadership spill succeeding Pesutto as the leader of the Victorian Liberal Party.[12]
On 7 January 2025,Battin unveiled the whole of his Shadow Cabinet,with former leader John Pesutto notably excluded.[13]
On 8 February 2025,following a by-election caused by the resignation of incumbent MP Sam Hibbins,the former Victorian Greens member for Prahran,the Liberal Party won the seat from the Greens with their candidate of Rachel Westaway.[14]
Battin has campaigned on cost of living issues,[16] and attributed his party's victory at the Prahran by-election on 'listening to locals' on the cost of living crisis.[17]
Despite Battin having a petition to stop the construction of the Suburban Rail Loop on his website,[18] he has said his party will follow through with the project if tunneling begins.[19]
Under his leadership,the Liberal Party of Victoria has promised,if elected,it would revoke treaty legislation passed in October 2025 by the state government.[20][21] This comes after his party already dropped support for the treaty after the Voice referendum was unsuccessful,with all present Liberal MPs voting against the bill.[20][22] Battin attracted criticism from Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell,who accused him of sewing division.[20] Several Liberal MPs,including Jess Wilson,David Southwick,and James Newbury joined those who voted for the bill in applauding speeches.[20]
Stabbing press conference
On 19 August 2025,Battin defended politicising a fatal stabbing when he diverted from his morning commute in order to hold a press conference at the scene of the crime where the body of the victim was still being processed by forensic analysts,prior to the circumstances of the man's death being established and before the victim had been formally identified with next of kin notified.[citation needed]Detective Inspector Dean Thomas from the Victoria Police homicide squad declined to comment when asked if it was appropriate for Battin to hold a press conference at an active crime scene. Victorian Government ministerColin Brooks requested that Battin apologise to the family of the man;Battin rejected this,saying he had "no regrets" over the incident.[23] In the wake of the crime scene issue and resurgent Labor Party polling,conservative media outlets reported that members of the opposition party room had leaked to the media about his significant loss of support within the party room,with one saying that a leadership change was inevitable.[24]
Luxury cruise scandal
In March 2025 a political scandal erupted when Battin was absent from the Parliament during the introduction of high-profile crime reform legislation by Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.[citation needed] The criticism erupted from within his own party over a lack of leadership when he explained his week long absence as "visiting his parents" who were impacted by Cyclone Alfred,only for it to be revealed that he had actually spent 4 days on the luxury cruise liner Quantum of the Seas. Battin latter admitted that he was "not upfront" about taking an luxury cruise but that he "did not regret" his failure to appear in Parliament to take a holiday.[25][26]
The scandal was compared by many Liberal Party members to former Prime Minister Scott Morrison taking an overseas holiday in Hawaii during a bushfire crisis in Australia in 2019. In a press conference,Attorney-GeneralSonya Kilkenny criticised Battin for his absence,saying "While the Liberal leader was living it up on a cruise last week,the Allan Labor Government was announcing Australia's toughest bail laws ever".[27]
Firetruck speech
In July 2025 Battin attended and gave a speech on top of a firetruck at a protest in Werribee held by a small number of rural farmers,Country Fire Authority volunteers and Peter Marshall,the National Secretary of the United Firefighters Union of Australia. The protest regarded Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and government changes designed to increase funding for emergency services including the CFA,Victoria State Emergency Service and the 000 emergency telephone number.[28][29] The protest included CFA firetrucks that had been emblazoned with various anti-Government protest slogans alongside Liberal Party branded advertising posters,with one of the vehicles having the phrase "ditch the bitch" featured prominently.[28][29] His appearance was viewed in the media as reminiscent of Tony Abbott's 2011 appearance at a protest against the Julia Gillard government carbon tax where he and a number of MPs from the Liberal party gave speeches alongside signs saying "Ditch the Witch" and "Bob Brown's Bitch". Battin refused to apologise for his appearance at the protest or state whether he had seen the slogans during his attendance.[28]
The slogan was criticised by anti-domestic violence organisations including Respect Victoria. Acting Premier Jaclyn Symes described Battin as "turning a blind to sexist slogans at rallies he attends",as well as referencing ongoing issues within the wider Liberal Party regarding their perception among women in the country. In the wake of the issue,CFA leadership issued a warning over participating in partisan politics and urged the organisation's members to remain apolitical.[30][29]
Issues surrounding statue of Dan Andrews
As per a policy introduced by former Victorian Liberal Leader Jeff Kennett,every Victorian Premier who served over 3,000 days in office is mandated to have a statue made of them.[31]Daniel Andrews is the first Premier to meet the requirements of the mandate,and will hence have a statue made of him.[31] However,in August 2025,this attracted criticism from Liberal Party members Moira Deeming and Ann-Marie Hermans,both of whom compared him to authoritariandictators.[32] Deeming created a petition to stop the statue from being built,and compared the Daniels government to “authoritarian regimes”,that she said erect statues of living leaders as a “tool of political dominance,of intimidation,like with Lenin or Mao or Hussein”,referring to Victoria's strict lockdown laws.[33] Both Deeming and Hermans attracted criticism,with Battin describing himself as "disappointed and very angry",yet refused to condemn either's comments,himself being criticised for this choice.[31][34][35]
Cabinet re-shuffle
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.[36] The reshuffle saw three first term MPs,Nicole Werner,Nick McGowan,and Richard Welch.[36][37] It also saw the promotion of former primary challenger Jess Wilson to the Shadow Treasurer portfolio,taking over from Battin ally James Newbury.[38] Battin marketed this as a part of the Victorian coalition's 'fresh start',following a slipping performance in opinion polls.[38] The reshuffle was criticised for promoting factional allies of Battin,rather than deserving individuals within the party.[38]
Renewed leadership tensions ensued from the reshuffle,with both moderate and conservative factions expressing unhappiness with the decisions made by Battin.[39] Speculation arose that Wilson or another Liberal MP would challenge Battin,however Wilson refused.[39]
On 27 October 2025,Battin unveiled the outer shadow cabinet,with Moira Deeming promoted to the role of shadow assistant minister for local government,and excluded former leader John Pesutto,despite a push by Liberal MPs to reinclude him in the shadow cabinet.[40]
Battin is considered to be factionally conservative within the Liberal Party,[41][42][43] although he has disputed this,saying in January 2025 that there is "zero evidence of the fact of me being a conservative".[44]
On his website,Battin has a petition to stop the construction of the Suburban Rail Loop,[46] though has said he will support it if tunneling starts for the project.[19]
↑ Clarke, Mitchell (10 March 2020). "New role for Battin". Pakenham Gazette. Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
↑ Ore, Adeshola (2 December 2022). "Victorian Liberal leadership hopeful John Pesutto to push for more women MPs". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2025. The race to lead the party narrowed to two contenders on Thursday after the Polwarth MP Richard Riordan pulled out, saying he would support Brad Battin from the party's conservative wing, who is contesting alongside the moderate Pesutto.
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