Victorian Liberals dump Moira Deeming in upper house preselection contest
Moira Deeming, who sits in the Victorian upper house, has lost her preselection battle. (AAP: Joel Carrett)
In short:
The Victorian Liberals have voted to replace Moira Deeming from its ticket for the next state election, with members replacing her with business leader Dinesh Gourisetty.
Party members voted to replace Ms Deeming in the top spot for the western metropolitan seat in the upper house.
Ms Deeming had the backing of the high-profile conservative figures including former prime minister Tony Abbott.
The Victorian Liberal party has dumped controversial upper house MP Moira Deeming from its ticket for the next state election, replacing her with business leader Dinesh Gourisetty.
Ms Deeming has been a polarising figure within the party after attending at an anti-trans-rights rally that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis in 2023.
She condemned the actions of the neo-Nazis but defended her participation in the rally, titled Let Women Speak.
She was suspended from the parliamentary Liberal Party before being expelled after threatening defamation action against then leader, John Pesutto.
Liberal MP Moira Deeming won a defamation case against former leader John Pesutto in December 2024. (AAP: Joel Carrett)
She successfully sued Mr Pesutto, with a court finding he had defamed her by implying she associated or sympathised with Nazis.
However, she returned to the Liberal party room after a leadership spill cost Mr Pesutto the top job in late 2024.
On Sunday, party members voted for Mr Gourisetty to replace Ms Deeming in the top spot for a western metropolitan region seat in the upper house.
Before the meeting, Mr Gourisetty told media he was feeling "very confident", adding it was in the hands of the delegates.
Ms Deeming did not speak with the media before or after the vote.
Moira Deeming was elected to the upper house in 2022. (AAP: James Ross)
Ms Deeming had the backing of the high-profile conservative figures, former prime minister Tony Abbott and his chief of staff turned Sky News host Peta Credlin.
The current party leader Jess Wilson also endorsed Ms Deeming's pre-selection, after taking a stance that she supported all sitting MPs facing a preselection challenge.
There is now speculation whether Ms Deeming will join another party, including One Nation, which is fielding a candidate in every seat after it's success in South Australia.
Ms Deeming did not contest for other spots on the ballot.
Last year, with Mr Pesutto facing bankruptcy due to losing the defamation case, Ms Deeming offered to delay bankruptcy proceedings against him if the party bypassed its rules and guaranteed her preselection.