Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto says party will vote again about exiling MP Moira Deeming
Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto has backtracked after stating exiled MP Moira Deeming won’t get a second chance in his party room.
Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto has backtracked on his decision to “bookend” his party’s decision to readmit exiled MP Moira Deeming, confirming her role in the Parliamentary Liberal Party will be again up for discussion in the new year.
“I have today called a special Liberal Party Room meeting for Wednesday 15th January 2025 at 10am to discuss and vote on a motion moved by me to readmit Mrs Moira Deeming to the Parliamentary Liberal Party,” Mr Pesutto said in a statement on Sunday.
“Since last Friday’s meeting it has become clear that there is now a definite absolute majority of my colleagues who want this issue resolved with her readmission so that we can collectively put this behind us and concentrate on the Prahran and Werribee by-elections and holding the Allan Labor Government to account.”
“I again apologise to Mrs Deeming as we all work together to ensure the Liberal Party succeeds in winning government in November 2026.”
The backflip comes after the state Liberal Party room met and voted 14-14 on a motion to readmit Ms Deeming, who has been serving as an independent MP, on Friday.
Mr Pesutto, who had earlier been found by the Federal Court to have defamed Ms Deeming, used his tie-breaking vote to ultimately confirm she would not be readmitted to the parliamentary arm of the party.
Following the vote, Mr Pesutto told media “today marks a bookend to this discussion”.
However, his decision to go to another vote marks a new chapter in the lengthy saga between the two politicians.
The Federal Court on December 12 ruled the Liberal Leader had defamed Ms Deeming in his response to her attendance at a rally held last year.
The court ruled that Mr Pesutto had made remarks conveying the imputation Ms Deeming associates with neo-Nazis after she attended an anti-trans rights rally that white supremacists gatecrashed.
Federal Court judge David O’Callaghan ruled Ms Deeming had been defamed on multiple occasions, including in radio and TV interviews which “caused or is likely to cause serious harm to her reputation”.
Ms Deeming was initially suspended for nine months from the party despite Mr Pesutto pushing to have her expelled.
The Victorian MP was eventually expelled from the parliamentary party last May but remained a member of the broader Liberal Party.
Speaking to media hours after the Federal Court decision was handed down on December 12, Ms Deeming said she was “unjustly expelled” from the Liberal Party and “it makes sense to me” that she be returned.
“I did nothing wrong. All the accusations that were made about me were just disproved in court,” Ms Deeming said.
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