Jess Wilson’s first full day as Victorian Opposition Leader has shown that leadership spills don’t end with the vote. The official count may be done, but the argument over what the Victorian Liberal Party should be, who it speaks for, how it rebuilds, and where it goes next is raging well beyond the party room.
Wilson stepped into the role with a brisk promise to steady the party, bring down power prices and, if elected, repeal the Victorian Treaty. It was a sharp shift from her earlier support of the Yes campaign during the 2023 referendum and her past openness to treaty work in Victoria. That shift has been read by some as strategy and by others as retreat.
Across the party, reactions have been mixed and often edged with suspicion. For many moderates, Wilson represents the generational reset they believe the party has needed for years. For conservatives, her win has reopened an old fight about identity, purpose and direction.
Polling analyst Kos Samaras argued that those expecting a hard turn to the right are misreading the electorate entirely. “In this country, you can only govern by winning the centre, which in some states now sits to the left,” he said. In his view, conservatives clinging to a romanticised past are speaking to an Australia that no longer exists. “Some still long for an Australia that exists only in their own nostalgic reruns, a black-and-white 1950s sitcom they keep trying to broadcast to an Australian population who in the majority, were born after the mid 1980s.”
That statement drew a quick response from NSW conservative figure Matt Camenzuli. “Kos is wrong. Battin was winning. Wilson will lose. Polls follow leadership,” he posted, adding that Labor strategists spend far more energy studying Liberal leadership churn than Liberal members do.
The sharpest reaction, however, came from former federal senator Gerard Rennick, who is trying to build a base in Victoria among disaffected Liberals and One Nation sympathisers. His attack was sweeping. “The removal of Brad Battin as Victorian opposition leader is why you can never trust the Liberal Party,” he said. “Make no mistake, this has nothing to do with the polls. Battin had done a good job of closing the gap on Labor and in some polls was both preferred premier and had the Liberals in front.”
Rennick framed Wilson’s rise as a factional ambush. “This is a factional hit plain and simple by the left wing of the Liberal Party who are controlled by corporate lobbyists,” he said. “It is in response to last week’s decision by the Federal Party to abolish net zero. Had Battin ever become Premier he would shut down renewable projects. There is no way the corporate rent seekers want this to happen.”
His critique went further. “The new opposition leader is 35 years old, is a career staffer/lobbyist, is the daughter of a former MP, supported the Voice and voted against Moria Deeming. Battin on the other hand was a former policeman and small businessman who consistently stood for common sense. He had real-life experience sadly lacking amongst today’s politicians.” He ended with the claim that “Australia desperately needs a genuine alternative to the Liberal Party that has the solutions for economic reform.”
This line of argument was matched by conservative columnist and Sky News host Rita Panahi, who dismissed Wilson as a lightweight. “She’s a Jacinta Allan-lite millennial with limited life and political experience whose worldview is almost identical to the Teals,” she wrote. She argued that Wilson has been on the wrong side of nearly every major debate and questioned her ability to cut through. “Her political judgement has thus far been as poor as former leader John Pesutto,” she wrote, accusing her of failing to challenge Labor on a single major theme since entering Parliament.
Panahi also questioned Wilson’s handling of internal party fights, particularly her vote to expel Moira Deeming. She argued that Wilson’s backing of the Voice referendum would complicate any Liberal attempt to fight Victoria’s treaty. “Premier Allan must be thanking her lucky stars that she’s blessed with an opposition so painfully inept,” Panahi wrote, pointing to Allan’s visible amusement during Question Time when she greeted Wilson as “the latest leader of the opposition”.
Inside the community, especially among Indian voters who have shifted unpredictably between the major parties in recent elections, reactions have been cautious. Several members told us privately that Wilson’s sudden shift on treaty has left them uncertain. “She has changed her tune now, but what happens after February?” one resident asked. “Is it better to stick to Jacinta because at least we know where she stands?” Others questioned whether Wilson can build momentum quickly enough to matter. “By the time people come back from holidays and settle in, it’s February. Elections are in November. Can she get her house in order?”
Wilson, for her part, tried to set a forward-looking tone. “In 12 months, Victorians will choose between another 16 years of Labor or a new generational Liberal team offering genuine hope for the future,” she said. “Our team is determined to work every day for you, listening, and setting out policies that reflect our Liberal values and give Victorians a credible alternative government.”
Her early focus has been economic repair. She warned that Victoria’s debt is growing at a pace that costs taxpayers close to two million dollars an hour in interest and argued that disciplined spending is the only way to rebuild services in health and education. She also stressed her commitment to lower taxes and cheaper power bills, framing her energy position as a market-driven transition rather than an ideological one.
Her vision includes housing incentives for first-home buyers, more supply across the state, and better support for working families through improvements in hospitals and schools. As a millennial mother, she has tried to position herself as part of the demographic that will carry the weight of Victoria’s economic future.
Despite the noise, a number of senior Liberals have closed ranks behind her, at least in public. They know the party cannot afford another leadership fight before November. But the ideological rift remains visible. Some see Wilson as a chance to court younger and economically aspirational voters. Others view her as another moderate leader who will struggle to speak to the outer suburbs.
Her challenge now is to define herself before others define her first. The party is tired of reinventions, but it is also tired of losing. Whether Wilson can reset that trajectory will depend on whether she can bridge an internal divide that has brought down every leader since 2014. For the moment, her first supporters and her strongest critics agree on only one thing: the next few months will decide far more than who leads the Victorian Liberals. It will decide what the party is.
Support independent community journalism. Support The Indian Sun.
Follow The Indian Sun on X | Instagram | Facebook
Donate To The Indian Sun
Dear Reader,The Indian Sun is an independent organisation committed to community journalism. We have, through the years, been able to reach a wide audience especially with the growth of social media, where we also have a strong presence. With platforms such as YouTube videos, we have been able to engage in different forms of storytelling. However, the past few years, like many media organisations around the world, it has not been an easy path. We have a greater challenge. We believe community journalism is very important for a multicultural country like Australia. We’re not able to do everything, but we aim for some of the most interesting stories and journalism of quality. We call upon readers like you to support us and make any contribution. Do make a DONATION NOW so we can continue with the volume and quality journalism that we are able to practice.
Thank you for your support.
Best wishes,
Team The Indian Sun
