David Southwick has been elected deputy Victorian Liberal leader following the sudden resignation of Sam Groth.
Liberal MPs met for a party conference on Wednesday morning in San Remo, the gateway town to Phillip Island, where backbencher Chris Crewther also contested the deputy position but was handsomely beaten by Southwick, 23-6.
Another two votes were informal, according to two sources unable to speak publicly.
Southwick, the member for Caulfield and opposition planning spokesman, ran for deputy in November when Jess Wilson rolled former leader Brad Battin.
But Groth, who was present at Wednesday’s meeting, narrowly won the role. Less than two months later, he announced he would quit politics at the November election.
Southwick was previously deputy leader under John Pesutto and Matthew Guy. His judgment was called into question after secretly recording a 2023 meeting in which Liberal MP Moira Deeming was told she would be expelled from the party room.
The clandestine tape became a central piece of evidence in Deeming’s successful defamation action against Pesutto, which sank his leadership on the day Deeming was returned to the party room in December 2024.
Southwick on Wednesday said it was great to be back in the role and supporting Wilson, thanking his colleagues for putting their trust in him.
He conceded there was some hesitation in Victoria about electing a Liberal government.
“Jess Wilson is the reason to vote Liberal. Whether it be young families, women, young people that haven’t quite made that transition to vote Liberal, Jess Wilson gives you every reason to vote Liberal,” Southwick said shortly after the vote.
He said he had learned from his experiences.
Wilson said she was “incredibly excited” to have Southwick as her deputy.
“I know David is absolutely focused on our priority areas,” Wilson said. “David has the energy, he has the enthusiasm, and he has the experience to ensure that he will be an exceptional deputy leader for the party going into an election year.”
She said Victorians were “sick and tired” of the Labor government, which is seeking its fourth term, and insisted there was no tension in the party room meeting on Wednesday.
Groth, a former tennis star and first-term MP for Nepean, announced early this month he would leave parliament after discussions with his family, and launched a broadside at his colleagues for in-fighting.
“I have always tried to approach this job with honesty, hard work and a clear focus on the people who put their trust in me,” he said.
“When you find yourself having to fight against your own team, it becomes impossible to put those interests first. That is not the standard I came into public life to accept, and it is not the kind of politics Victorians deserve.”
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Rachel Eddie is a Victorian state political reporter for The Age. Contact her at rachel.eddie@theage.com.au, rachel.eddie@protonmail.com, or via Signal at @RachelEddie.99Connect via X or email.
