Liberal MP Moira Deeming given massive promotion in move set to inflame internal party tensions

Liberal MP Moira Deeming has been given a huge promotion and a direct line to leader Brad Battin in a move that has infuriated some colleagues.

Liberal MP Moira Deeming has been given a massive promotion and a direct line to leader Brad Battin in a move set to inflame internal party tensions.

Mrs Deeming was on Thursday unveiled as Mr Battin’s representative to the western suburbs putting her on par with senior Liberals David Davis in the east and Evan Mulholland in the north.

The move has infuriated some colleagues who say the promotion is unwarranted and marks Battin as a Deeming supporter over that of former leader John Pesutto who is involved in an ongoing legal battle with Mrs Deeming.

Party sources said the move to promote Mrs Deeming was deliberately made to solidify grassroots support among Liberal Party members who wanted to see Mr Battin lock in behind the party’s conservative wing.

“Every Victorian deserves a fair go, a real say in their future, and the opportunity to thrive,” Mr Battin said.

“Moira Deeming’s new role is about listening to the voices that haven’t been heard by this Labor government and ensuring the western suburbs are given the attention they deserve.”

Moira Deeming has scored a massive promotion. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Mrs Deeming said she would work to address years of hardworking families of the western suburbs being taken for granted.

“As a Liberal, I want us to earn their trust, not just their votes. That’s why I’m so proud to serve under Brad, because he’s not focused on election cycles- he’s committed to fair laws, fair funding, and a real future for our families,” she said.

Some Liberals hoped the party would win February’s Werribee by-election, amid a crumbling of support for the government in the traditional Labor heartland.

But despite the ALP suffering a 16 per cent swing, the Liberal Party picked up just over four per cent of disaffected voters.

The west has become a key Liberal Party target ahead of next year’s election, with recent polling showing Labor support is continuing to fall away there.

Mrs Deeming returned to the Liberal Party party room in December after more than a year in exile after being expelled for attending a Let Women Speak rally and launching defamation proceedings against Mr Pesutto.

Mr Pesutto was found to have defamed Mrs Deeming in the Federal Court and ordered to pay her more than $300,000.

He is now facing the prospect of being forced to pay an estimated $2.4m in legal costs amassed by Mrs Deeming in fighting her case.

Premier Jacinta Allan claimed the appointment was a case of the Opposition Leader buckling to pressure from the party’s conservative faction.

“I think this is just further evidence that it’s not Brad Battin that leads the Victorian Liberal Party, it’s his extreme right wing that tells him what to do, that tells him who to appoint,” she said.

“It’s further demonstration to the Victorian community that Brad Battin doesn’t know what he stands for and that you cannot trust the Liberal Party to make the sensible decisions that are focused on supporting working people and their families.”

Ms Allan said the Liberal Party should answer whether they felt comfortable with the prospect of their former leader, John Pesutto, going bankrupt after the federal court found he defamed Mrs Deeming.

Originally published as Liberal MP Moira Deeming given massive promotion in move set to inflame internal party tensions