Stuart Smith, the director of the Victorian Liberals, has resigned after leaked WhatsApp messages showed him mocking the party's women's council and a senior MP. The messages, published by the Australian on Wednesday night, included a photo of a martini captioned 'F U LWCV' and a video of upper house MP Bev McArthur with the comment 'here's Bev with dementia'.
Smith apologised for the comments and stepped down on Thursday morning to avoid distraction for the party. 'In the best interests of the party I have tendered my resignation to minimise distractions from the important task of winning the next election,' he said in a statement.
Victorian Liberal leader Brad Battin said Smith's resignation was 'the right thing to do', adding that the comments were 'unacceptable and do not reflect the standards of professionalism, integrity and inclusion that we all expect of each other'. Opposition police spokesperson David Southwick described the remarks as 'inappropriate' but denied any parliamentary involvement in the resignation.
Evan Mulholland, the party's deputy leader in the upper house, called the comments 'completely unacceptable' and welcomed Smith's resignation. Labor minister Danny Pearson said the episode proved the Liberal party was 'deeply divided', questioning their ability to govern the state.
Smith's departure comes ahead of the party's state council meeting this weekend, where the presidency will be contested. Preselections for the November 2026 state election are set to open shortly after.
