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Opposition Leader John Pesutto has distanced himself from his former Liberal leadership rival\u2019s attempt to reignite scrutiny over a 2013 car crash involving Premier Daniel Andrews.<\/p>\n
On Sunday \u2013 the day after the Liberal Party won a crucial byelection \u2013 Brad Battin, the opposition\u2019s spokesman for police, corrections and crime prevention, took part in a press conference alongside Colin Robertson, a self-described amateur Sherlock Holmes and professional product engineer who believes there are inconsistencies in Andrews\u2019 account of the crash.<\/p>\n
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Opposition Leader John Pesutto (left) and the opposition\u2019s spokesman on police, Brad Battin.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>The Age<\/cite><\/p>\n Three sources familiar with the situation confirmed that the opposition leader\u2019s team expressed annoyance at the timing of Battin\u2019s involvement in a media story on Sunday and were unaware he was taking part in a press conference the day after the Warrandyte byelection win.<\/p>\n Battin, who lost the leadership to Pesutto in December by just one vote, has referred the 10-year-old case to the Independent Broad-Based Anti Corruption Commission (IBAC).<\/p>\n \u201cThe stories given by Mr and Mrs Andrews does not match with the evidence that has been hidden from the Victorian people for many years since the crash,\u201d Battin said he wrote in his letter to IBAC.<\/p>\n Battin\u2019s concerns relate to the handling of the Andrews\u2019 crash, which occurred on the Mornington Peninsula in 2013. The premier has always said that the cyclist involved collided with the side of his family\u2019s car. But the cyclist, Ryan Meuleman \u2013 who was 15 at the time \u2013 is now suing the law firm that represented him at the time, Slater & Gordon, for breaching its duties by failing to conduct \u201ca full and proper investigation into the circumstances\u201d.<\/p>\n The Age<\/em> has spoken to more than six members of the shadow cabinet, including some members of the leadership team, who confirmed that while Pesutto\u2019s office was made aware of the referral to the integrity watchdog, it wasn\u2019t given prior knowledge of the press conference until hours before it started.<\/p>\n On Monday, Pesutto was questioned about the referral but did not accuse Battin of undermining his leadership.<\/p>\n Pesutto said while it was \u201cmore than a curiosity\u201d that police are alleged to have completed their investigation without talking to the person first on the scene, it was now a matter for the state\u2019s integrity body.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s gone back to IBAC now,\u201d he told radio station 3AW. \u201cSo IBAC will be looking at the matter. And I think it\u2019s best that it do its work and investigate it and report on it.\u201d<\/p>\n Liberal MP Brad Battin, a former police officer, speaking during Sunday\u2019s press conference.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Paul Jeffers<\/cite><\/p>\n By contrast, Battin \u2013 a former leadership rival to Pesutto \u2013 has said he has \u201cgenuine concerns\u201d about the matter and has questioned the investigation by Victoria Police.<\/p>\n \u201cVictorians deserve the answers now,\u201d Battin demanded on Sunday.<\/p>\n Normally, alerts for media appearances by members of the opposition frontbench are sent via a centralised text message service. But the alert for Sunday\u2019s event in Cheltenham was from an independent communications consultant.<\/p>\n Several of Battin\u2019s colleagues questioned the timing of the press conference and lack of consultation with shadow cabinet members beforehand.<\/p>\n One frontbench MP, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss party matters, described Battin\u2019s press conference as a \u201cfreelance job\u201d, and said it was \u201cjust weird\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAt some point, senior members of an opposition need to decide if they\u2019re going to be the alternative government or spend time with the conspiracy theorists. It was not authorised,\u201d the shadow minister said.<\/p>\n Another frontbencher said the normal process when holding a press conference was to inform the leader\u2019s office days before to ensure it wouldn\u2019t clash with another event, and for media advisers to prepare to alert the relevant media and send out any audio or press releases.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of that stuff is done centrally,\u201d one frontbencher said. \u201cIt\u2019s rightful to say, what the f— is he [Battin] doing?\u201d<\/p>\n However, the frontbencher also described Battin as a \u201cteam player\u201d and said his 2021 leadership challenge against Michael O\u2019Brien was \u201cout of character\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not going to engineer a spill, but I am sure he still has ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n Robertson, the product engineer at Sunday\u2019s press conference, said he learnt the event was going ahead \u201cthree or four\u201d days in advance.<\/p>\n \u201cI was simply told Sunday, and that seemed good to me,\u201d he said. \u201cI just want the facts to come to light.\u201d<\/p>\n The event followed a rare win for the Victorian Liberal Party on Saturday, when its candidate Nicole Werner claimed a decisive victory in the Warrandyte byelection, in what could have been a test of Pesutto\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n John Pesutto congratulates Nicole Werner on her win in the Warrandyte byelection on Saturday night.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Luis Ascui<\/cite><\/p>\n Ahead of polling day, a small group of conservative Liberals \u2013 unhappy with the direction of the party under Pesutto \u2013 had speculated that a significant drop in the party\u2019s primary vote could spark leadership speculation.<\/p>\n With Labor not fielding a candidate in the byelection, the Liberal vote soared, with the primary vote up by 10 per cent from 47.35 per cent to 57.38.<\/p>\n In March 2021, Battin engineered a spill against then-leader O\u2019Brien, which he lost 22 votes to nine. Battin ran for the leadership again after last year\u2019s election loss and was narrowly defeated by Pesutto 17 votes to 16, but retained a position on the frontbench.<\/p>\n While some colleagues disapproved of Battin\u2019s strategy, the matter was not raised in the opposition\u2019s shadow cabinet meeting on Monday morning, according to several MPs who attended.<\/p>\n Battin was contacted for comment.<\/p>\n Get the day\u2019s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. <\/i><\/b>Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter here.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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