Key Points
- Victorian Liberal Party leader John Pesutto will move to readmit exiled MP Moira Deeming.
- Pesutto blocked a bid for Deeming to return on Friday after MPs were split 14 apiece on welcoming her back.
- The state Opposition leader was found this week to have defamed Deeming by implying she associated with neo-Nazis.
A backflipping John Pesutto will seek to paper over huge division in the Victorian Liberals and save his leadership by backing a motion to welcome back exiled MP Moria Deeming.
A day after saying the party was “moving on”, the state Opposition leader announced it was clear a “definite absolute majority” of party MPs wanted the hard-right MP readmitted.
Liberal MPs were split 14 apiece on welcoming Deeming back into the party on Friday after the Federal Court found Pesutto defamed her and ordered he pay $315,632 in damages plus costs.
It led former prime minister Tony Abbott to criticise the “shameful decision” and Deeming to say she was being treated like a “vengeful witch”.
The state Opposition leader has refused to resign after he was found to have made defamatory comments implying Moira Deeming was associated with Nazis. Source: AAP / Con Chronis
Pesutto said he would move to readmit Deeming in a second special meeting in mid-January.
“Since last Friday’s meeting, it has become clear that there is now a definite, absolute majority of my colleagues who want this issue resolved with her readmission so that we can collectively put this behind us and concentrate,” he said on Sunday.
“I again apologise to Deeming as we all work together to ensure the Liberal Party succeeds in winning government in November 2026.”
It marked an about-face from Saturday when, while denying being given an ultimatum to resign by colleagues, Pesutto said the matter was “resolved”.
“There was a long debate … we’ve resolved it. We’re moving on,” he said.
Moira Deeming was expelled from the Victorian Liberals after a controversial anti-transgender rights rally she helped organise and spoke at was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis. Source: AAP / Joel Carrett
Deeming was after a controversial anti-transgender rights rally she helped organise and spoke at in March 2023 was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.
Friday’s motion failed as it required more than half of the party’s 30 members to pass, and two MPs were absent.
Pesutto used his casting vote to break a 14-14 tie.
Deeming, who remains a Liberal party member but sits as an independent MP in the state’s upper house, used an interview on Saturday to call for the leader’s head.
“To treat me as some vengeful witch that needs to be burned at the stake is just incredibly offensive,” she told 7 News.
Tony Abbott attacked the Victorian Liberals who had voted against her readmission on Friday.
“How can someone elected as a Liberal be expelled on the basis of a lie and not be readmitted once the truth is there for all to see?” the former Liberal prime minister posted to X.
“Especially right before Christmas, the season of goodwill, this is a truly contemptible failure to act with honour and decency.”
A supporter of Pesutto, speaking to the Australian Associated Press on condition of anonymity, admitted the issue wasn’t going away and was unsure if Pesutto could survive.
“This is the worst result. It’s shocking,” the Liberal MP said on Friday. “There’s a massive divide.”
A second Liberal MP, who voted against the motion, said they weren’t sure if the outcome would be fatal for Pesutto’s leadership.
The internal upheaval stems from Pesutto being found to have made defamatory comments implying Deeming was associated with Nazis following the 2023 Melbourne rally she attended.
She was initially handed a nine-month suspension before being booted from the parliamentary party after threatening to sue Pesutto.
The state Opposition leader has refused to resign, triggering former tennis player turned Nepean MP Sam Groth to quit his shadow cabinet.
