Brad Battin Explained

Bradley William Battin (born 12 December 1975^[1]) is an Australian politician who currently serves as the Liberal Party member for Berwick in the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2022. He was previously the member for Gembrook from 2010 until the seat was abolished in 2022 following the 2021 Redistribution. He was formerly a police officer and owned a bakery in Wheelers Hill.^[2]

Career

Battin obtained a Diploma in Public Safety (Policing) with the Victoria Police, and a Graduate Diploma in Adolescent Health and Welfare from the University of Melbourne.^[3] In 2020 Battin completed a Graduate Certificate in Business, he went on to complete his Master in Business Administration at the University of Victoria. He has spoken on the issue of youth suicide on various occasions and targets raising further awareness about this.

Battin was promoted to Shadow Cabinet in 2014 as the Shadow Minister for Emergency Services and Environment.^[4] In 2017, he was appointed the first Victorian Shadow Minister for the Building Industry while still retaining the Emergency Services portfolio.^[5]

In 2020, Battin moved to Shadow Minister for Youth Justice, Shadow Minister for Crime Prevention, Shadow Minister for Victim Support, Shadow Minister for Roads (Metro), Shadow Minister for Road Safety and the TAC.^[6]

In March 2021, Battin attempted to oust Michael O'Brien as leader of the state Liberal Party, but was defeated in a 22–9 vote, following which he resigned from his shadow ministry positions.^{[7] [8]}

After the Liberal Party lost the 2022 state election, Battin ran in the subsequent Liberal Party state leadership election after previous leader Matthew Guy resigned. He was endorsed by two of his former election challengers Ryan Smith and Richard Riordan, but lost the vote 17–16 to John Pesutto, the member for Hawthorn.^[9]

Battin supports increasing the age of criminal responsibility.^{[10] [11]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Mr Brad Battin. Parliament of Victoria. 14 December 2010. 13 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140213192617/http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/members/id/1705. dead.
2. News: Mr Brad Battin . Parliament of Victoria . live . 21 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221121083426/https://new.parliament.vic.gov.au/members/brad-battin/ . 21 November 2022.
3. https://archive.today/20130628195952/http://www.bradbattin.com/about-brad-battin.html About Brad Battin
4. News: 17 Dec 2014 . Victorian Coalition announces shadow cabinet of 24, with 10 new faces, led by Matthew Guy . ABC News . 21 November 2022.
5. News: Burrows . Bonny . 26 September 2017 . Minister MP given extra portfolio . Pakenham Gazette . 21 November 2022.
6. News: Clarke . Mitchell . 10 March 2020 . New role for Battin . Pakenham Gazette . 21 November 2022.
7. News: Smethurst . Annika . Sakkal . Paul . 16 March 2021 . Liberal challenger quits frontbench after failing to topple O'Brien . The Age . 21 November 2022.
8. News: Fowler . Michael . Smethurst . Annika . Sakkal . Paul . 16 March 2021 . Whose spill is it anyway? How Battin picked a fight with O'Brien but got KO'd by Guy . The Age . 21 November 2022.
9. News: McCubbing . Gus . 8 December 2022 . John Pesutto wins Liberal leadership in Victoria by one vote . Australian Financial Review . 9 December 2022.
10. https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/victorian-labors-plan-to-raise-age-of-criminal-responsibility-from-10-to-12-at-risk-as-fears-of-a-voter-backlash-grow/news-story/f14ccda1d9a00785357889738d63ab4b
11. https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/liberal-mps-break-ranks-in-push-to-raise-age-of-criminality-to-14-20210524-p57uiy.html