Overview
- Victorian Liberal MPs voted in a party-room spill to replace Brad Battin with first-term Kew MP Jess Wilson as opposition leader.
- Wilson is the first woman to lead the state Liberals, becoming the party’s third leader in 11 months and its fifth since 2021.
- The move followed a cross-factional delegation telling Battin he had lost the confidence of the party room less than a year into his tenure.
- MPs and strategists cited poor polling, internal divisions, and frustration with a narrow focus on crime as drivers of the leadership change.
- Wilson, 35, a former adviser to Josh Frydenberg and Business Council policy director, signalled priorities on the budget, housing and health, with the deputy leadership and shadow ministry still being settled ahead of the November 2026 election.