Exiled Victorian Liberal Moira Deeming announced as guest speaker at SA Liberal Women’s Council AGM

A Victorian Liberal embroiled in party drama after being expelled over her attendance at a controversial women’s rally will be a special guest for the party’s SA branch.

Exiled Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming – who was booted from the parliamentary party following her attendance at a controversial rally – will be the guest speaker at the SA Liberal Women’s Council AGM this month.

In an invitation to the event, council president Leah Blyth told members Mrs Deeming would speak about “her experience and the attempt to prevent her advocating for the rights of women and girls”.

“Your LWC has been prominent in defending the rights of women to have their voices heard in the political process despite a fierce campaign to prevent women standing up for their rights,” she said.

“Mrs Deeming’s suspension from the Parliamentary Liberal Party in Victoria has been the subject of considerable media discussion and commentary. The LWC is proud to have passed a motion in her support.”

Exiled Liberal MP Moira Deeming. Picture: Arsineh Houspian

Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Luis Enrique Ascui

Mrs Deeming, a first-term MP, was suspended from the parliamentary party in March after she attended the Let Women Speak rally, which was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.

Then, in May, she was expelled from the parliamentary party and moved to sit on the crossbench. However, she remains a member of the organisational wing of the Liberal Party.

Mrs Deeming has issued three concerns notices to Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto, warning that she intends to launch defamation proceedings over comments he made about her publicly after the event.

The LWC meeting will also feature an “interactive policy panel” featuring Mrs Deeming, Senator Alex Antic, Ben Hood MLC, SA Liberal Party president Rowan Mumford, LWC executive members Lana Gelonese and Bridie Ward, and Thea Hennessey.

Ms Blyth told the Advertiser “the aggressive tactics used by some activists to silence women are unacceptable”.

“We look forward to hearing Moira speak about the challenges facing women in standing up for their rights,” she said.

“The work being done here in SA to ensure our party remains committed to its centre-right values is making progress and women in particular will benefit from this.”

Originally published as Exiled Victorian Liberal Moira Deeming announced as guest speaker at SA Liberal Women’s Council AGM