Liberal president re-elected, warns infighting puts party in crisis

11 hours ago 4

Victorian Liberal president Phil Davis has told members that if the party can’t unify and put aside infighting, it will never be able to govern.

Davis survived a challenge from his predecessor Greg Mirabella on Saturday and was re-elected president. He urged those gathered at Moonee Valley Racecourse for the party’s state council to set aside their differences.

Victorian Liberal Party president Phil Davis was re-elected on Saturday.

The party has been fractured over a loan to former leader John Pesutto. Separately, former state director Stuart Smith resigned this week over derogatory WhatsApp messages leaked to the media.

“The last week has not been the highlight of my life, or the presidency, to be blunt. And I hope we don’t see the likes of it ever again,” Davis told party faithful on Saturday afternoon once votes were counted.

Davis was re-elected with about 490 votes out of 900, multiple Liberal sources unable to speak publicly said.

He acknowledged some members would be unhappy with the result but said the party needed to work together to be ready to govern.

Former state president Greg Mirabella launched a challenge.

“The reality is we have to work together,” Davis said. “The only way we can be ready to govern is to work together to seek that end. That is the only way we will form government.”

He conceded the result of the November 2026 election would be critically important to the future of the party, not just Victoria.

“If we are incapable of governing ourselves and being able to win in 2026, in my view, we will be in a crisis.”

Davis said the party’s administrative committee, now known as the state executive, would begin the recruitment process for Smith’s replacement next week.

Davis is aligned to Smith.

Davis has been defending a court challenge to the party’s decision to approve a $1.55 million loan to Pesutto. A handful of members on the state executive have claimed the decision was unconstitutional.

The committee approved the loan in June, sparing Pesutto bankruptcy and the party a byelection in his marginal seat of Hawthorn, after the Federal Court found he had repeatedly defamed his colleague Moira Deeming and ordered he pay $2.3 million worth of her costs.

A loss for Davis on Saturday would have caused alarm for Pesutto’s supporters.

Opposition Leader Brad Battin received two standing ovations when he addressed the state council, announcing a $100 million law-and-order election promise.

He pledged to introduce Jack’s Law, giving police and protective service officers power to screen people for knives with hand-held metal detectors in all public places, including transport zones and shopping centres.

It was introduced in Queensland in 2023 following the stabbing death of Jack Beasley in 2019, and has so far taken 1200 weapons off the streets.

Jack’s Law has been criticised by some experts as being largely symbolic rather than tackling the root cause of knife crime, with fears it would unfairly target minorities.

Battin also announced plans to establish a Victorian-first “residential and responsibility program” called Restart.

The bootcamp-style initiative would be a structured, live-in program for serious and repeat offenders aged between 12 and 17, and feature mandatory physical and emotional activities to build discipline and confidence.

Deputy leader of the federal opposition, Ted O’Brien, also addressed the crowd. He joked about former premier Daniel Andrews’ attendance at a Chinese military parade earlier this month.

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