Brad Battin doesn’t fit the mould of a typical politician – and he’s fine with that

Dubbed the “bogan from Berwick”, Victorian opposition leader Brad Battin embraces his background as a former police officer, footy player and coach, and someone who still genuinely road-tests policy ideas at the pub.

Having left school early and owned a Baker’s Delight, Mr Battin, complete with tattoos, is quick to point out that he’s not your typical pollie. From parliament to the pub, the father of two appears determined to bring politics back to the people.

“When someone talks about the pub test – I actually do the pub test,” he told CBD News.

“If I’ve got an issue and I wonder whether it’s any good, I’ll literally go to the pub and have a few beers and have a chat to people – it’s the best way to find out information and if they sit there and go, ‘you’re an idiot’, they’re probably right.”

Open about the fact that he “never wanted to get into politics”, it’s this everyday appeal and connection to community that has underpinned the Member for Berwick’s 15-year career in parliament, now rising to become Victoria’s next alternative Premier.

The new opposition leader sat down with CBD News to discuss his first few months in the job, the road ahead to the November 2026 state election, and how Melbourne must regain its edge as one of the world’s best cities – and that’s not without some advice for new City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece.

It’s still early days for Mr Battin who only took over from his predecessor John Pessuto at the start of the year following the high-profile defamation case between the former opposition leader and Liberal MP Moira Deeming.

While Ms Deeming won the case, she is now reportedly pursuing costs that threatens to both bankrupt Mr Pesutto and provide an unwelcome and lingering distraction for Mr Battin to contend with.

But he’s naturally upbeat about the state of his party when asked by CBD News, affirming that all his colleagues had “one thing on their mind now”, and that was to “win government”.

“What we read in the media versus what happens in real life is always a bit different,” Mr Battin said. “But overall, I’ve never walked into the party room and felt ‘oh this is going to be a long day’.”

“Over the next just over 600 days, you’re going to have a group that have come together for the right reasons, to do the right things, to effectively win government. As long as they’re concentrating on that then we’re going to be in a good position.”

Mr Battin is now hoping to reconnect with voters by presenting himself and his team as a grounded alternative focused on restoring pride in Melbourne and delivering a “sensible” path forward on infrastructure, housing and safety.

While acknowledging that “obviously no-one wants to be in opposition”, he describes the past few months in the role as rewarding and energising, adding that the opportunity to lead the party was one that he seized with both hands.

“It’s been a real challenge. You learn a lot about yourself and different leadership styles,” he said. “The team’s positive, proactive, and I think we’re in a good position moving forward.”

A longtime MP for the outer south-eastern electorate of Berwick, Mr Battin said his passion for the inner city stemmed from his time spent working in Melbourne and Prahran as a copper.

He says Melbourne was, and still has the potential to be the world’s greatest capital city but believes the sense of civic pride in the CBD has waned.

“We’ve got nearly everything going for us – we used to have the best nightlife, we used to have the best and safest streets, but now we’re just seeing too many places closed and businesses are struggling,” he said.

“We need to bring that pride back into Melbourne.”

Mr Battin says part of the solution lies in revitalising the city beyond major events. That means supporting smaller events and ensuring cafes, restaurants and retail can thrive all year round – not just during the tennis or AFL finals.

While his federal counterparts have come under scrutiny for their now scrapped election policy to force public servants back to the office, he believes in a much more “sensible, balanced approach” for Melbourne.

“My wife works from home a couple of days a week and it suits her, and her productivity is up, but I think we have to take productivity into consideration, as well as the impact across the whole state,” he said.

On crime and safety, he said concerns were widespread and had become the most commonly raised issue in the community, alongside cost-of-living pressures and the city’s quieter weekdays post-COVID.

He called for more collaboration between Spring Street and Town Hall, and while acknowledging Lord Mayor Nick Reece’s efforts to bolster street security, Mr Battin said some initiatives had overstepped.

“I’ve met up with him [Nick Reece] a couple of times. He’s pretty dynamic.”

“I get what Nicholas is doing around trying to put security on the streets with people in knife proof vests, etcetera, but it should be the police’s role, and I think that’s really important,” Mr Battin said.

“Rather than trying to fix the problem of the state, he should be focusing on what he can do and actually encourage the state to fix that,” but added that “part of that too is we should work together on cleaning up the city”.

Mr Battin said he was open to working with the City of Melbourne on shared projects and pointed to cities like Ballarat, which he noted took “pure pride” in keeping its streets clean.

“There’s a group up there [Ballarat] that goes around and cleans up the footpaths every morning. I haven’t seen that in Melbourne other than those little trucks that drive around, which do nothing compared to the guy with the big high-pressure hose.”

With infrastructure shaping up as a key election issue, Mr Battin said the government’s flagship Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) project would be reviewed and scrapped if the Coalition wins power, labelling it “unaffordable”.

Instead, he flagged targeted investment in rail electrification upgrades in growth corridors, and a greater focus on buses – including dedicated lanes and expanded networks in growth areas.

“Obviously, we know we want it [SRL] cancelled now but if that doesn’t happen, we have to assess it. You don’t want to be stuck with a noose of something that we just can’t deliver,” he said.

“If you can use buses in line with trams and align them better, I think that’s a fantastic way that we can get more cars off the road without going out and promoting taking cars off the road. If people trust the system and it works, they’ll use it.”

On housing, Mr Battin said high-rise developments alone wouldn’t solve the crisis, suggesting that many Victorians wanted more space and would prefer outer suburb or regional options if properly supported.

He also criticised the government’s rebranding of the SRL as a “housing project”, arguing it was a way to shift public attention away from cost blowouts.

“The evidence is in, not everyone wants to live in a high-rise,” he said. “We’ve got thousands of places available in Melbourne and if everyone wanted to live there, they would be full.”

“The housing plan that the government’s got is dictating where you need to live rather than asking people where they need to live and then putting in place a longer-term plan.”

He said areas like Geelong offered major potential for long-term housing solutions, and that more should be done to unlock both brownfield and greenfield sites, especially those already tied up in state government planning in the inner-city such as Fishermans Bend, E-Gate and Arden-Macaulay.

While stopping short of committing to specific projects like Metro 2, Mr Battin said any future government would need to assess priorities based on return on investment and infrastructure gaps.

With less than two years until the next election, recent polls suggest voters are tiring of Labor ahead of what will be 12 years of consecutive government. A recent Resolve poll finds Mr Battin leading Jacinta Allan as preferred Premier 36 to 23.

While his party will need to win at least 25 seats to claim government and hold onto what it has, he believes there’s a growing appetite for change.

“I think people are sick of it. They’re sick of Labor. It’s not a person, they’re just sick of Labor.”

He said people were increasingly talking about crime, cost of living, infrastructure and healthcare, with many raising concerns about Victoria’s mounting debt and the financial strain on households and businesses.

“Labor can’t manage the big projects; they can’t manage a lot of things and Victorians are the ones who are paying. Our process now is about how can we fix that,” he said, adding that his party had already announced its intentions for “more gas”, “cutting waste”, and “getting rid of corruption”.

“Now the process is about what are our big policies moving forward. For example, how do we address things like crime – it can’t just be lock them up and throw away the key. While that’s the easy way out, there also has to be a preventative model where we guide the next generation away from the system.”

Asked why he was taking on the challenge of leading Victoria, Mr Battin doesn’t hesitate.

“If we don’t have change, it’s only going to get worse. You need a responsible government in there to start the process of fixing the damage that’s been done.” •