The spectre of Peter Dutton as prime minister could cost the Coalition three marginal seats at the state election, Victorian Liberal insiders fear.
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The brutal infighting at the top of the party is bad enough but things could get even worse for the Coalition locally if Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is replaced by Mr Dutton, a politician some in its Victorian branch have described as “toxic” to their prospects in the state.
As instability and leadership speculation gripped Canberra on Monday, Victorian party insiders speculated that Mr Dutton as prime minister might cost the Liberals at least three marginal seats in the state at a federal election.
Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy played down the threat in public on Monday but behind the scenes one Liberal conceded the dysfunction at federal level was a “gift” to the Andrews state Labor government.
“What the federal government does with themselves, they can work out themselves,” Mr Guy told reporters on Monday.
He insisted he was leading a united team, arguing it was the Andrews Labor government that had been fighting among itself.
“We’re putting a plan to Victorians that is based on common sense, that is based on thinking for the next generation not just for the next election,” he said.
“We haven’t changed leader down here, we’ve been very stable in Victoria, we’ve had no issues with infighting.”
However, one Victorian Liberal said Mr Dutton as prime minister would be a disaster in Victoria.
“I just think Dutton’s toxic from a Victorian perspective,” the Liberal said.
The Liberal figure said federal instability allowed the Andrews government to convey a contrasting sense of calm and control with its two major energy announcements in as many days.
One Liberal MP said talk of a leadership challenge was a significant distraction for the Victorian opposition.
“It certainly doesn’t help. And whatever doesn’t help, hurts, the MP said.
However, the Liberal MP said the leadership speculation was not damaging enough to keep Victorian Liberals “awake at night” over fears it would derail their election campaign.
On Monday Premier Daniel Andrews said he gave Mr Dutton and the Liberal Party “no thought at all”.
“The Liberal Party in Victoria are irrelevant to our plans, so is the Liberal Party at a national level,” he said. “They do need to get themselves sorted out though.”
On Sunday the Andrews government announced it would spend $1.2 billion over 10 years so that up to 650,000 home owners across Victoria could receive solar power systems on their roofs.
If re-elected, Victorian Labor will provide $4450 per household to install the systems and allow half that sum to be repaid through an interest-free loan.
The state government followed up that announcement on Monday morning with another promise to help up to 60,000 Victorian households upgrade their hot water systems to solar as part of a $60 million program.
Mr Andrews said some homes were unable to accommodate solar panels but solar hot water systems could help households save up to $400 a year. However, the offer will not be available to households that have installed the half-price solar panels.
A Labor strategist said the chaos surrounding the federal government’s energy policies would hurt their Victorian Liberal colleagues with the Andrews government able to present an environmentally-friendly solution to rising power prices.
