Supreme Court Pauses Liberal Bid to Revoke Moira Deeming's Preselection
Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming has successfully secured a temporary injunction, compelling the party to suspend its immediate plans to revoke her preselection for the imminent state election. The Liberal Party’s state executive had been scheduled to convene on Friday evening to determine Ms Deeming’s candidacy, a move initiated after her steadfast refusal to issue an apology to former leader Matthew Guy regarding her contentious "headlock" allegations stemming from a community gathering.
This internal party dispute, now entangled in legal proceedings, is slated to return to court later this month for further deliberation.
In a significant development for her political future, Ms Deeming garnered a two-week postponement in her status as a Liberal candidate for the forthcoming November state election. This occurred after the party formally conceded in the Supreme Court to nullify its immediate intention to remove her preselection. The embattled upper house MP had initiated legal proceedings, seeking an injunction against both the Liberal Party and its president, Brian Loughnane, to prevent the state executive from proceeding with her disendorsement following her refusal to retract her accusations against fellow party member, Matthew Guy.
The controversy originated from Ms Deeming's assertion that Mr Guy had placed her in a "headlock" during a Macedonian community event held in May. This serious claim was initially lodged with the state opposition leader's office before being formally reported to Victoria Police. However, law enforcement officials subsequently dismissed the complaint after an examination of CCTV footage. The surveillance appeared to depict Mr Guy placing a hand on Ms Deeming’s back during an interaction within the bustling Sunshine venue, rather than the alleged headlock.
Despite Opposition Leader Jess Wilson echoing Mr Guy’s call for a formal apology, Ms Deeming remained resolute in her refusal. Consequently, the Liberal Party’s state executive was slated to convene at 6:30 PM on Friday. The anticipated outcome of this meeting was the revocation of Ms Deeming’s preselection for the Western Metropolitan Region in the upper house – a coveted position that would have virtually assured her electoral success in November.
While Ms Deeming was extended an opportunity to present her defence before the state executive’s impending vote, she opted instead for a high-stakes, last-minute Supreme Court challenge late on Thursday, a clear move to safeguard her political aspirations. By Friday afternoon, the Liberal Party had agreed to defer any action to remove her as a candidate, pending the full hearing of the dispute later in the month.
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Anticipating the legal challenge, sources within the Liberal Party indicated confidence in their legal standing regarding the matter. For Ms Deeming’s disendorsement to proceed, a supermajority of three-quarters of the 18-member executive would be required. Speaking anonymously, executive members conveyed to the ABC their expectation of a unanimous decision against her. It is important to note that the executive’s objective is not to expel Ms Deeming from the Liberal Party as a rank-and-file member, nor from the parliamentary party room itself.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson refrained from public comment on Friday. However, she had previously articulated on Thursday her firm resolve not to permit internal discord to disrupt the Coalition’s campaign as it endeavors to unseat the incumbent Labor government in the November election. Through her legal representation, Ms Deeming issued a statement on Monday, acknowledging that she had "misunderstood the meaning of the term ‘headlock’" but maintained that her complaint was made in good faith.
In a separate development, federal One Nation leader Pauline Hanson decisively dismissed the prospect of Ms Deeming joining her party as a candidate, citing the contentious allegation and subsequent lack of apology. "No. I don't want her. No, no," Senator Hanson emphatically stated during an interview on 3AW on Thursday.