Conservative MP Wins Back Spot on Party Ticket After Being Ousted

A conservative-leaning state Liberal MP, who was previously ejected from her party, has made a surprise comeback after winning a bruising internal battle.

Moira Deeming secured endorsement for top spot on the party’s Victorian upper-house ticket for the Western Metropolitan Region after other candidates withdrew from running.

She previously lost her candidacy after the party overlooked her for businessman and Indian community leader Dinesh Gourisetty, who garnered support from the party’s moderate wing.

But he was forced to step aside after it was revealed he had provided a character reference for a now-convicted child sex offender, triggering another preselection contest.

Deeming was the only eligible nominee remaining for the position.

On Sunday, she thanked everyone who had supported her—including state Liberal leader Jess Wilson—adding she looked forward to exposing “Labor’s callous betrayal of hard-working families” ahead of the November Victorian election.

“When we win, I will work tirelessly to restore good governance to this great state of Victoria,” she told AAP.

The politician has repeatedly made headlines since she was preselected by the party in 2022.

The former high school teacher was suspended from the Liberals after she attended a 2023 Let Women Speak rally that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.

She was later expelled from the Liberal party room after she threatened legal action against then-leader John Pesutto.

The former party boss was ultimately found to have defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis and ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs.

Deeming was welcomed back into the parliamentary party in December 2024 and named its representative for Melbourne’s western suburbs.

She offered to defer some of Pesutto’s legal bill in exchange for conditions including her preselection, but the proposition was rebuffed.

The state Liberals’ administrative committee agreed to lend Pesutto $1.55 million to settle his debt to Deeming and avoid bankruptcy.

The loan prompted an ongoing legal challenge from a group of breakaway Liberals.

By Farid Farid and Callum Godde in Sydney.