In a significant setback for the Victorian Liberal party's electoral ambitions, MP Sam Groth has announced he will quit politics at the November state election, citing damaging internal party conflict.
A Blow to Modernisation Hopes
The departure of Sam Groth, a former professional tennis player and the party's star recruit, strikes at the heart of leader Jess Wilson's pledge to present a refreshed and modernised Liberal party to voters. At just 35, Wilson had seen Groth as a key asset and a visible symbol of this renewal. His exit, prompted by what he described as "significant" public pressure on his family—some of which he says originated from within his own party—leaves a gap in the party's frontline and underscores its persistent internal divisions.
The Liberals head towards the November poll with what should be a compelling advantage: a new, energetic leader facing a weary third-term Labor government burdened by a state debt forecast to hit $192 billion by 2028-29. No Victorian Labor government has ever won a fourth term. Yet, as the past week has demonstrated, the party's most formidable opponent continues to be itself.
Internal Hostility and Personal Attacks
Groth's rapid rise from first-term MP to deputy leader after winning back the seat of Nepean in 2022 bred resentment among colleagues who felt he hadn't "paid his dues." This hostility escalated into a campaign of backgrounding and backstabbing, which reached a nadir with a series of Herald Sun articles making serious personal allegations about Groth and his wife, Brittany.
Although the couple sued for defamation and invasion of privacy, securing an out-of-court settlement and an apology, the newspaper's defence revealed an unnamed Liberal MP was central to the story. Groth's resignation statement made a pointed reference to this betrayal, highlighting the difficulty of ignoring attacks from within.
Further Turmoil on the Horizon
For Jess Wilson, who has championed a message of unity, the Groth episode is deeply damaging. However, her challenges are far from over. The party is braced for a wave of damaging preselection battles in March, with MPs Moira Deeming and Ann-Marie Hermans facing challenges, and Renee Heath also potentially under threat.
Deeming, who successfully sued former leader John Pesutto for defamation, is not expected to go quietly if challenged. Furthermore, the party's dysfunction is set to be aired in a Supreme Court trial in March, where members of its own executive are challenging the legality of a $1.5 million loan extended to Pesutto to pay Deeming's legal costs.
Unlike Labor, where factional manoeuvring is often hidden, the Liberal party's rank-and-file preselection process makes it difficult for Wilson to intervene directly, promising months of damaging headlines ahead of the election.
The central question for the Victorian Liberals is clear: while the party leadership understands it must hold the political centre to win, can it withstand the self-inflicted damage of the coming months to actually get there?
