Latest news with #VictorianElection
ABC News
12 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
Victorian Liberal leader Brad Battin says party infighting is over as focus shifts to 2026 election
Victorian opposition leader Brad Battin has conceded some Liberal Party MPs have focused more on internal rivalries than voters, but has said his team will be unified heading into the election in 2026. Mr Battin described the party's decision to provide former leader John Pesutto a $1.55 million loan to avoid bankruptcy, a policy he supported, as a "line in the sand" that signalled a renewed focus on winning government. The long-running fight between Mr Pesutto and fellow Liberal MP Moira Deeming, who successfully sued her former leader for defamation, has divided the party. It became a proxy battle in a broader ideological struggle for control of the party. In an interview with the ABC, Mr Battin said he was speaking to every MP individually following the decision to provide Mr Pesutto a financial lifeline, stressing the need for unity. "You've been elected as a local member of parliament. You've got the self-discipline to get there. You just need now to put that into team unity." Asked whether MPs who failed to be team players would face consequences, Mr Battin said voters would ultimately decide. "The consequences are, you lose the election. It's a pretty simple consequence." The Coalition has not won a Victorian election since 2010 and has been crippled by infighting. A common criticism is that too many MPs are focused more on getting to parliament rather than winning government. "I think there's always an element of that, because it's been publicly perceived as that,'' Mr Battin said. The Berwick MP said it was incumbent on MPs to reflect on why they were elected. "What things did you want to see change in the state? And can you do it from opposition? If the answer is yes … then you're probably in the wrong job." Mr Battin challenged Mr Pesutto's leadership six months ago after his supporters undermined Mr Pesutto's position, but Mr Battin reiterated throughout the interview that his team was now united. He hinted that the frontbench team could change but would not say if Mr Pesutto or Ms Deeming would be included in a revamped shadow cabinet. Ms Deeming had proposed an alternative to the party loaning Mr Pesutto money, including delaying his court order debt if her preselection was guaranteed. Mr Battin declined to comment on that or complaints to the state's anti-corruption watchdog, citing legal advice not to speak publicly on the matter. While expressing confidence in the team he would take to the election, Mr Battin said some MPs would need to reflect on their future. "People have to make decisions about time served in parliament, if they want to stay or not,'' he said. The Coalition must add 16 seats at next year's November election to win office. The task is big, but after three terms of Labor, there is a genuine chance for the Liberals, Mr Battin believed. "We've got one chance coming up in about 16 months. It's our opportunity to ensure we prove to Victorians we're ready." He said the party would now focus on policy, with internal disputes hopefully behind him. Mr Battin admitted the long-running conflict between Mr Pesutto and Ms Deeming took a toll on him, including sleepless nights. "It takes a physical and mental challenge on you … but it's resolved my drive. I know what I need to do to win at the next election." He doesn't regret how he handled the matter, stressing that it was a dispute between two individuals. Some MPs criticised Mr Battin for a lack of leadership in failing to resolve the crisis sooner, while others were angered by his decision to support the loan to Mr Pesutto, highlighting the party's ongoing divisions. "I know what I need to do to win at the next election. I need to get the right policy settings, have the right processes with my team, ensure we're a united front, and send a message to Victoria that we're ready to govern."
9 News
27-05-2025
- Business
- 9 News
Victorian opposition pledges to ditch stamp duty for first-home buyers
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Stamp duty will be scrapped for first-home buyers who purchase any property valued up to $1 million if the Victorian Liberals and Nationals are elected at next year's state election. Opposition Leader Brad Battin and Shadow Treasurer James Newbury announced the "bold and visionary plan" as part of its budget reply. The tax-exemption would be applied to more than 17,000 first-home purchases in its first full year, according to estimations by the Parliamentary Budget Office. Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin and Shadow Treasurer James Newbury. (Getty images) Battin said described the policy, which forms the centrepiece of the opposition's budget reply, a "common-sense reform" that would deliver "the circuit-breaker Victoria desperately needs". "Labor's war on property and addiction to tax has destroyed confidence in the economy," he said. "We need a plan to grow, not just tax and spend." Newbury added the proposal focused on "giving aspirational first home buyers the final leg up they need" "This policy is about rewarding aspiration. It's about giving young Victorians a fair go," he said. "For too many young Victorians, the first home dream has become a nightmare. "This policy is about backing in renters that have been stuck in the rental market not by their own choice, but by a tax system that is stacked against them."' On a $750,000 home, Victorians pay an average of $40,000 in up-front stamp duty. In October 2024, the Allan Government announced a 12-month stamp duty concession for off-the-plan apartments, units and townhouses. That tax cut is available for homes of any value and is not limited to first-home buyers. The concession is tipped to save home-buyers an average of $25,000 in its first full year, according to Allan. Victoria national Victoria Politics Tax Victorian Politics Victorian Election CONTACT US Property News: He was evicted. Then he saw his home on Airbnb.
ABC News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Adam Bandt has lost his seat of Melbourne. What happened to the Greens in Victoria?
In the progressive stronghold city of Melbourne, the Greens were hopeful that by now, they might finally be celebrating winning a second Victorian seat in the federal lower house. Instead, 15-year local member and party leader Adam Bandt is out of a job In the northern-suburbs electorate of Wills, the Greens were competitive, but the seat was also retained by Labor despite a distribution favourable to the Greens and speculation about the The Greens are expected to maintain their presence in the senate, but in the lower house they have been decimated, losing On Thursday afternoon, He said he believed a number of Greens votes in Melbourne had "leaked" to Labor because the electorate was determined to keep Peter Dutton out of government. "People saw Labor as the best option to stop Dutton ... it did make a difference." he said. He said redistribution of the Melbourne electorate worked against him but he still led on first preference votes, with Labor's candidate Sarah Witty elected on preferences. The latest Melbourne count shows a 4.6 per cent swing away from the Greens on first preferences too. It's true Mr Bandt experienced an unfavourable re-distribution — losing high Green-vote areas of East Brunswick and Fitzroy North — in favour of shakier territory south of the Yarra River. That lost Greens territory was expected to be the gain of his colleague over the boundary in Wills, which swept in those areas as part of its own redistribution. But those changes in Wills, which also takes in Coburg and Fawkner, were not enough to get Greens candidate Samantha Ratman over the line, despite a swing in her favour. Greens losing seats despite increase in young, progressive voters On election night the Greens put out a press release celebrating the party's "highest-ever vote in history," and their continued expectation that Mr Bandt would retain his seat. The vote for the Greens has not been finalised, but by Thursday morning — with about 80 per cent of the vote counted in the lower house — the party was trailing nationally on its 2022 election result. The ABC is projecting that Greens leader and former Melbourne MP Adam Bandt will lose his seat after 15 years. ( ABC News: Kate Ashton ) While ballots are still being counted, election analyst John Black said no matter how you looked at it, it was hard to characterise the result as a victory for the Greens. "To dress this up as a win is a flight of fantasy," said Mr Black, a former Labor senator who runs an election modelling company. The Greens currently have a swing against them in the senate and the lower house of about half a per cent, with a slightly larger swing against them in Victoria, often viewed as the country's most-progressive state, at 0.7 per cent. In comparison, Labor has seen a 2 per cent positive swing in the lower house. That's despite this year's election being the first Despite the general upwards trend in the Green vote in recent decades, their leader is toppled and the party's representation in the lower house has been slashed. "They're in the same position as the Liberals at the moment, aren't they?" Mr Black said. Greens losing votes from their base, analyst says Before voters went to the polls, Mr Black, who writes for the Australian Financial Review, warned the Greens were campaigning on a strategy that was failing to win votes and losing support from their own base in the seats that mattered. Greens leader Adam Bandt has been defeated in the seat of Melbourne. ( ABC News: Nick Haggarty ) The environmental party "I think that they were way too negative and didn't focus on their strengths, which was to concentrate on the environment," Mr Black said. Former Labor strategist turned Redbridge pollster Kos Samaras said there was a surge of support for the Greens amongst 20-something year olds, but the increased "activism" in the party's politics also cost them votes in the seats that mattered most. Some Melbourne voters found Greens campaign divisive, too idealistic Since election night, hundreds of Victorian voters have written into the ABC about what decided their vote as part of the ABC's Your Say project, with more than 50 voters telling the ABC why they did — or didn't — vote for the Greens. It included a number of former or swinging Greens voters who said they did not vote for the Greens this time because they did not like the outsized focus on the Israel-Gaza war, which was seen as divisive. There was a frustration with the Greens' tendency to prioritise the "idealistic" over the practical, while a number said they were concerned about Mr Bandt's leadership. Angela, who lives the electorate of Melbourne, heard an anti-Greens sentiment from some of her neighbours. ( ABC News: Kate Ashton ) Angela, a childcare worker in the Melbourne electorate said while the Greens campaign was highly visible, she knew many of her neighbours did not support Mr Bandt. "A lot of them were not in favour of the Greens policies … [because] are they actually feasible? What's the price to pay for all of that? That was a lot of the sentiment that I've been hearing from my community," she said. 19-year-old Carlton resident Scarlett said she was "very disappointed and very surprised" with the Greens loss. Carlton voter Scarlett was surprised Greens leader Adam Bandt was expected to lose his seat. ( ABC News: Kate Ashton ) She voted for Mr Bandt, but noticed the environment was not at the front of the Greens campaign. "The environment's a very important issue for me, but … you know, no one was really talking about it at all this year," she said. A Carlton resident and university professor said she was relieved at the result — she said she used to find Mr Bandt charming, but no longer liked the direction of the Greens, describing their campaign as "very undergraduate". Pro-Palestinian message splits Greens voters in Wills There was speculation that the Greens' pro-Palestinian messaging could pay dividends in seats with higher migrant populations like Wills by attracting new voters, but it appears to have cut both ways in Victoria. Some voters told the ABC the party's staunch stance on Palestine and Gaza won their vote. "There are tens of thousands of people this election who voted Greens for the first time, in areas where the party hasn't been able to reach … more diverse areas … suburbs with migrants and multicultural populations," said Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi. Election fallout and analysis: Want even more? Here's where you can find all our 2025 Catch the latest interviews and in-depth coverage on While the Greens recorded a positive swing in Wills (after a favourable redistribution), some voters, including those who voted for the party before in areas with a typically strong Greens vote, told the ABC they felt alienated by the party's messaging on the Israel-Gaza war. A 40-year-old lifelong Greens voter from Carlton North (formerly Melbourne, now Wills) said she found the pro-Palestinian messaging divisive and negative. "Both my parents were migrants, so I really dislike watching the rise of hate and bigotry on all sides," she said. She said she was a Chinese-Australian and voted Labor in the end. At the local high school in Fitzroy North the Greens recorded 54 per cent of the two-party preferred vote in 2025, compared to 62 per cent 2022. ( ABC News: Kate Ashton ) At Edinburgh gardens in Fitzroy North, the ABC spoke to multiple people who had formerly voted Greens — including a young mother and an environmental consultant — who did not vote for them at this election, referencing the "outsized" and "divisive" pro-Palestinian messaging. Another Wills voter —a lawyer who voted Labor — told the ABC the Greens' campaign focus on international issues did not resonate with the local community, who realised that real change would come from the political centre. These "better-educated professionals" were the natural base of the Greens who were leaving the party, analyst Mr Black said. The Greens had hoped its pro-Palestinan stance could help it pick up votes in Wills. ( ABC News: Darryl Torpy ) While they may have won some new votes in migrant communities, they were mostly in seats the Greens would not win, he said. "The strategy that they were running was demonstrably not working," he said. "As the ALP has demonstrated, clearly, it's the middle ground that is now occupied by the majority of Australian voters."
