Victorian Liberal Moira Deeming has been dumped from the top spot on the party’s Western Metropolitan upper house ticket, a shock decision that threatens to reignite factional warfare just months out from the state election.
Party members voted on Sunday to replace Ms Deeming with businessman and Indian community leader Dinesh Gourisetty, stripping the outspoken MP of her safest electoral position and effectively ending her parliamentary career.
Deeming did not contest any other place on the ticket, meaning she will lose her seat at the next election.
The vote proved close, with Gourisetty securing 37 votes to Ms Deeming’s 29.
Deeming burst onto the national stage in 2023 after attending a ‘Let Women Speak’ rally, an event later overshadowed when neo‑Nazis gatecrashed the gathering.
While Deeming condemned the extremists, she refused to disown the rally against transgender people taking women’s spaces; a stance that fuelled fierce internal backlash.
The controversy escalated when then Liberal leader John Pesutto suspended and later expelled her from the parliamentary party, after Deeming threatened defamation action over claims she sympathised with extremist groups.
That dispute ended disastrously for the party.
Moira Deeming (pictured) lost preselection for the Victorian Liberal Party’s upper house ticket
A court ruled Pesutto had defamed Deeming by implying she associated with Nazis, triggering his resignation following a failed leadership spill late last year.
Deeming received about $2.3million in legal costs and $300,000 in damages, and returned to the Liberal party room after Pesutto’s removal.
Despite high‑profile backing from conservative heavyweights, including former prime minister Tony Abbott, party members ultimately turned against her.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson publicly backed Deeming’s preselection, arguing that sitting MPs deserved protection from internal challenges, an appeal that failed to sway the rank and file.
Daily Mail understands anger simmered within sections of the party over Deeming’s lawsuit against Pesutto, with critics labelling it a major distraction that diverted attention from campaigning against Labor.
Meanwhile, other conservative faction MPs and some of Deeming’s biggest supporters, including Bev McArthur and Renee Heath, secured preselection in their respective upper house regions.
Deeming is yet to publicly comment on the result, with speculation rife that she may consider an independent run, or join One Nation.
