During a 90-minute meeting of MPs this morning, the Victorian Liberals voted to kick Moira Deeming out of the party room.
Deeming, who currently represents the state’s Western Metropolitan Region, will now serve the remaining three and a half years of her legislative term as an independent MP in the upper chamber.
Deeming was suspended from the party room for nine months in March after narrowly avoiding an effort by Opposition Leader John Pesutto to oust her for attending a rally co-opted by neo-Nazi figures. However, today she was suspended after making legal threats against Pesutto.
According to reports, MPs voted 19 to 11 in favor of her dismissal.
One of the five Liberals who proposed the motion to kick Deeming out of the party today, James Newbury, said the decision to do so was appropriate retribution for what he called a “gross betrayal”.
He asserted, “You cannot sue your employer and expect to preserve your job.
We are moving forward as a team, but suing your party and your leader is a heinous act of treachery.
Last week, Deeming threatened to sue Pesutto if he didn’t provide a statement debunking the allegations of Nazi affiliation that she claims were leveled against her.
She initially recanted that threat on Saturday, saying she had no intention of suing the Liberal Party, but yesterday she reaffirmed it by notifying Pesutto’s office of a defamation worry.
According to Liberal MP Sam Groth, the expulsion gave the party an opportunity to advance.
“I think it’s a real chance to draw a line in the sand for the party now,” he declared.
“We held a meeting, and now we’re going to proceed.
As I’ve maintained from the beginning of this entire drama, “We’re going to get behind John, and I think it’s a chance for us now, it’s time for the Liberal Party to start being a viable option.”
The party decided to penalize Deeming’s ally Renee Heath in addition to ejecting Deeming.
Heath’s post as party secretary was eliminated.
