Wednesday, 4 February 2026

 Tim RICHARDSON (Mordialloc) (16:16): This is an opportunity to rise and grieve for Victorians if the Liberal–National coalition were ever to be let near government and Victorians, with the divided, dysfunctional and disgraceful state that they find themselves in some 43 weeks from the state election. Who could have thought that with the terrible dysfunction that we see in Canberra the Victorian Liberals would find a ‘hold my beer’ moment and go even further into absolute chaos and carnage in this Parliament, where we see no less than the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party who resigned in January now forcing a by-election.

I think the member for Berwick was a late call-up for this grievance debate, because this is normally the moment for the Leader of the Opposition to shine, to come in here, to put forward their case in the first big grievance debate, holding the government to account. Today we have seen the member for Kew go into hiding like never before as the media ask what on earth has happened to have seen so much dysfunction. We have seen Sussan Ley and Ted O’Brien in the federal Parliament in absolute despair and the member for Kew lose her deputy leader within six weeks of taking on the leadership, and this is a movement that says that they are the alternative government for Victorians.

When people are facing the challenge of making ends meet, it is the Allan Labor government who fronts up and supports their cost of living. When they are trying to get home on time to see their family and the kids that they love, it is a Labor government that is building for the future and supporting them into the future. When we are thinking about funding for emergency services, there is a Labor government that is guaranteeing that funding into the future with revenue sources to support those organisations. At this time we see, rather than the Parliament functioning in its pure form and its importance, the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party go.

There are two key things that are the same in the member for Kew’s and the member for Nepean’s journeys here: they were both mentored by the former federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Josh had a vision to have the member for Kew and the member for Nepean take over the Liberal Party. In the member for Nepean’s own words in his recent statement on 5 January:

I entered public life to serve my community, to represent the Mornington Peninsula, and to stand up for what I believe is in the best interests of Victorians.

This is a former Australian Olympian who has represented our nation, who was brought into this Parliament as a testament to Liberal values, and what did he go on to say?

But 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.

The line in the sand was the member for Kew saying they are a united team and they bring each other together. Well, on 18 November 2025 the member for Nepean was elected the deputy leader. The member for Nepean scouted the court, looked down the lines, saw the faults and said, ‘I reckon the member for Kew’s got this sorted.’ But within six weeks – that is all it took – the member for Nepean had seen the most toxic and dysfunctional party room culture and nothing that would change into the future, to the point that it was unsafe for him to remain in this Parliament. Just to get this through very clearly, I know the opposition leader legends will be across the road at Spring Street typing away: ‘We’d have ruled a line over it; it had nothing to do with the member for Kew.’

The member for Kew sat around that cabinet table as the Shadow Minister for Finance. The member for Kew was a close confidant of former opposition leader John Pesutto, the member for Hawthorn. This is someone who was at the epicentre and came in as a class of 2022 member of Parliament, and not once has the member for Kew apologised for the egregious, bullying and intimidating culture that the member for Nepean was subjected to.

Brad Rowswell: On a point of order, listening to this contribution, I am grieving for the constituents of the member for Mordialloc’s seat. I draw your attention, Speaker, to standing order 118.

The SPEAKER: I do not believe that the member for Mordialloc has breached standing order 118, but I do remind members about imputations.

Tim RICHARDSON: The member for Nepean was backgrounded by anonymous Liberal colleagues. In his own statement he talked about some of the most egregious statements you can make against a person in our community, let alone a member sworn into this Parliament, who was backgrounded, in his own words, by his own colleagues. Now, there has been no account for one of the most egregious attacks on someone’s character, which saw a settlement take place, and those anonymous people that went after the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party still to this day have not come forward. As a collective, the Liberal Party has not apologised for what happened to the former Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, who was the second in charge to the former Leader of the Opposition, the member for Berwick. At the time, on that grievance, I gave the member for Berwick a bit of a rev up – we are former Berwick lads, Speaker; I do not know if you know that, but we both came from Berwick, from out that way – and I sent him a bit of a love note because I felt bad for him. I thought, ‘This is outrageous.’ It was suggested that he was doing a good job. He was sent out here today when the member for Kew was meant to lead the grievance. He had a fair crack. But I said at that time – because James Campbell from the Herald Sun reported that a Liberal MP said, ‘I thought we’d hit rock bottom last December, but this has gotten worse’ – goodness me.

What does February 2026 hold? What does February 2026 hold when the member for Kew has lost the deputy leader; the person who was defeated by the member for Nepean is now the deputy leader, so the member for Caulfield is back again and we have a group that is more interested in cutting grass and cutting each other down than fronting up to the cost-of-living challenges facing Victorians and the housing issues that have seen prices that have stabilised in Victoria, supporting people into the housing market. We have seen those stats released recently. For the people that are trying to get health care and fronting up to emergency departments or urgent care clinics to support their families, it is an Allan Labor government that is funding the investments here, while those opposite are wanting to front up to conferences in Hawthorn.

I do not know if you would ever go to a conference without a drink and a meal for $160, but that is what the Barnaby Joyce show was charging for a cup of tea and a biscuit. $160 was the fee, and the member for Kew had an unforeseen scheduling issue. Could that unforeseen scheduling issue be a media press pack that was going to chase you around the countryside, wondering why on earth you would lose someone as senior as the member for Nepean, who was scouted as future leader talent, who was headhunted by none other than former federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who is the dual mentor of the member for Kew? You can see it coming together here. This is the clown show that wants to be the next government in Victoria.

The member for Kew has a lot on. There is no trust whatsoever for the member for Sandringham and the member for Brighton to do anything in Treasury, is there? Remember, they have both served in that role. They have got a bit of a rivalry down there on the Sandringham line, but we will not get too much into it – who is this and who is that and who is the best. But I would have trusted the member for Sandringham; I would have given him a go. You know the baritone, that gravitas he has, that radio voice. He was not good enough for a guernsey. He was not good enough; he could not split the load.

And now we find that the member for Kew still has not accounted for the $11.1 billion hole in revenue. You can do this in January. You can do some TikToks and you can mow some lawns, even though you did not have a permit and stones were flicking up everywhere. You can do that. I always wonder at the metaphors in this place. Why on earth would you allow us to then have cuts like the hole? If you look at all the backgrounding that the member for Berwick talked about, cuts are still an issue for the Liberals. There is no late breaking news there. You would literally have cuts of grass – a cuts metaphor ‍– rolling through with your new crew, and you would allow that to be punned and reeled and whatever into the future. But the workload to try to keep this rabble together has meant that the member for Kew has not fronted up to the $11.1 billion black hole. That is a revenue source that would smash essential services – hundreds of police officers, nurses and teachers and thousands of critical skilled workers in our community. What is going to be rolled back?

I honestly do not think the member for Kew has had the time to get to it, because right now we see in the Western Metro there is a massive blue going on. We saw some powwow chats, with Moira Deeming in the other place talking to a few colleagues. We have seen it in the media. Every Liberal member that still exists in the south-east is running for South-East Metro – one, two, three, four, whatever you go for. Everyone is on the ballot. They get deterred by their five-grand appearance fee. I do not know if you have heard this, but you have got to pay the five grand appearance fee to front up to be preselected. They breathe in deep and go, ‘Jeez, I’d go for free, but five grand’s a bit of a stretch.’ You have literally got them arguing over that side whether they can get a bargain basement two-for-one offer or a discount offer on preselections going in the Liberal Party, and you have got their real talent waiting for 2030. That is the group that wants to be the alternative government in Victoria.

And here comes the kicker. This is why we will never believe that this is a united team that is fit to govern Victoria. The member for Hawthorn has been honourable in all of the dealings that have happened and has been treated appallingly post settlement and what has happened. He has kept his integrity. He has kept his honour through here time and time again. Guess what the deal is. One of the deals that has been backgrounded is that he gets chopped; he is out. The price is his job for the settlement: ‘Is it really a proper settlement payout down at Liberal HQ?’ That is fully distracting the Leader of the Opposition from being able to front up to Victorians and tell honestly what the cuts will be and what the impacts will be of the $11.1 billion hole. That is the dysfunction here.

Then there is a progressive electorate like Kew, which has its leader going off into Horsham chasing One Nation votes with Barnaby Joyce. And the main defender to come forward was Barnaby Joyce, who was saying on the record –

Brad Rowswell: On a point of order, Speaker, I am hoping that you will agree that the member for Mordialloc’s contribution seems to be sharply focused on a particular member, being the member for Kew.

Natalie Suleyman interjected.

Brad Rowswell: Through you, Speaker, and for the benefit of the minister at the table, I am referring again to standing order 118. I raise that for your attention on the basis that the member keeps coming back time and time again in some obsessive way to the member for Kew, only offering personal reflections.

The SPEAKER: I am not sure what your point of order is.

Brad Rowswell: I believe that the member for Mordialloc is in contravention of that standing order, and I ask you to counsel him against pursuing this line of debate.

The SPEAKER: I remind the member for Mordialloc not to impugn other members. Reflections are okay, but do not impugn.

Tim RICHARDSON: It is a hard truth when $11.1 billion is the hole in your budget. If that is impugning a member, that is the most sensitive to the core principle of those –

Danny O’Brien interjected.

Tim RICHARDSON: The Leader of the Nationals might interject, but could you get on the phone to David Littleproud and ask what on earth is going on? Have you kept One Nation at the Murray River? You know how you have got your border towns – do you just push One Nation back there, Leader of the Nationals? The Leader of the Nationals used to know a little bit about Barnaby Joyce. I would love to actually get his personal reflections on what it was like to work near him and what he thinks now, as he absolutely is on a tear nationally. We have seen the federal numbers for the Nationals in the 2 or 3 per cent range. It is in record low territory at the moment. One Nation polling we know is concentrated through, and we know that this is just a big shudder, because there are going to be a stack of independents running in regional and rural Victoria, and there will be a stack of One Nation legends running in regional and rural Victoria, and we will see Liberals running all over the place. It is just absolute carnage. Those are the kinds of circumstances here. We do not have an opposition focused on policy and outcomes for Victorians. We have them in a battle for political survival and relevancy. We have seen it with the Tory party in the UK, and we are seeing it with the Liberals right here as they chase the fringes as fast as they can.

It is an inconvenient truth for the member for Sandringham, a sudden cancel of programming. If they cannot debate budget holes and the cosy relationship that they have with One Nation, having preferenced them before, and that is an imputation – goodness me, glass jaws. Is that really the offence right there, that talking about the budget is so sensitive for those opposite?

There was no sensitivity around the impact on the member for Nepean – I come back to that principal point. There is a deep, sick culture in the Liberal Party that backgrounds the most egregious allegations that go to the heart of someone’s character, their family, their kids and their partner. And no-one in the Liberal Party has come out and apologised and said, ‘This is not the culture that we accept.’ Some of us on this side have said that to the member for Nepean. Some of us have been horrified at the treatment of the former deputy Liberal leader, and it is a horrendous shame that such allegations, backgrounded by Liberal people, could be made. And there is silence from those opposite, not apologising for such horrendous behaviour, which has forced him to get out of this place as quickly as possible, against his best instincts and the mentoring that was done by Josh Frydenberg. They have lost a Liberal that could have led them into the future. They are chaos and carnage, and they cannot be trusted.