Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming loses preselection for upper house seat in 2025 election
Consensus Summary
Moira Deeming, a controversial Victorian Liberal MP, lost her preselection bid for the upper house seat in the Western Metropolitan Region, ending her political career within the party unless she defects. The vote on Sunday saw Dinesh Gourisetty secure the top spot with 39 votes, defeating Deeming’s 26 and Trung Luu’s 3, though exact numbers varied slightly between reports. Deeming’s political journey has been marked by controversy, including her attendance at an anti-trans rally gatecrashed by neo-Nazis in 2023, her defamation case against former leader John Pesutto—which she won in December 2024—and her subsequent expulsion and reinstatement within the party. Despite backing from high-profile conservatives like Tony Abbott and Peta Credlin, internal party dynamics, including a shift toward moderation under leader Jess Wilson, contributed to her loss. The Western Metropolitan Region is a key battleground, and the Liberal Party expects to retain its upper house presence, though speculation persists that Deeming may join One Nation or another minor party. The preselection process itself faced scrutiny over delegate legitimacy, with Deeming alleging irregularities that were dismissed by the party’s executive. While Deeming did not comment publicly after the vote, her supporters hinted at potential defection, while One Nation and the Libertarians left the door open to discussions. The outcome reflects broader tensions within the Liberal Party, including leadership challenges and internal power struggles.
✓ Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Moira Deeming was dumped from the Victorian Liberal Party’s upper house ticket for the Western Metropolitan Region seat in the upcoming November 2025 election
- Dinesh Gourisetty won the top spot in the preselection vote with 39 votes, while Moira Deeming received 26 votes and Trung Luu received 3 votes
- The preselection vote took place on Sunday at the Victorian Liberal Party headquarters on Collins Street, Melbourne
- Moira Deeming was expelled from the Liberal Party room in 2023 after threatening defamation action against then-leader John Pesutto, who later lost a defamation case to her in December 2024
- Moira Deeming attended an anti-trans rally in 2023 that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis, which became a major controversy within the party
- Tony Abbott and Peta Credlin publicly endorsed Moira Deeming’s preselection bid
- The Western Metropolitan Region seat is a key battleground for the 2025 state election, with the Liberal Party expecting to re-elect two MPs
- Moira Deeming was elected to the Victorian upper house in 2022
- Jess Wilson, the current Liberal Party leader, endorsed all sitting MPs facing preselection challenges, including Moira Deeming
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- Moira Deeming offered to delay bankruptcy proceedings against John Pesutto if the party bypassed its rules and guaranteed her preselection
- Moira Deeming won a defamation case against John Pesutto in December 2024, with the court finding he defamed her by implying she associated or sympathised with Nazis
- Moira Deeming was suspended from the parliamentary Liberal Party before being expelled after threatening defamation action against John Pesutto
- Moira Deeming did not contest for other spots on the ballot and did not speak with the media before or after the vote
- Moira Deeming was appointed as the 'leader’s representative to the western suburbs' under Brad Battin, a role not continued under Jess Wilson
- The Victorian Liberals stripped voting rights from four delegates in the days leading up to the preselection, citing constitutional justifications
- Dinesh Gourisetty had donated to John Pesutto’s legal fund
- Moira Deeming’s preselection in 2022 created controversy due to her views on abortion and transgender rights
- The final vote breakdown was not publicly released, with other media reporting a slightly different tally than the 39-26-3 figure
- Deeming walked out of party headquarters immediately after her loss with her husband, Andrew, and declined to comment
- One of Deeming’s supporters hoped she defects to One Nation and criticized John Pesutto, who was not present for the vote
- One Nation state president Warren Pickering said the party had a great working relationship with Moira Deeming and was open to discussions
- Liberals expect to easily re-elect two MPs in the region at the November election, particularly given Labor’s waning popularity after three terms
- The Liberal Party was relegated to just one upper house MP in the Western Metropolitan Region in the 2018 'Danslide'
- Six breakout members of the party’s state executive are challenging the legitimacy of a loan given to John Pesutto through the Supreme Court
- Wyndham Council fined Dinesh Gourisetty in 2019 for rat faeces, grease, oil, and grime found in his kitchen and storage
- Gourisetty wrote in his candidate brochure that he had served the party at the grassroots level for more than 15 years
- Liberals speculated that Deeming could quit the parliamentary team this week, having missed recent party room meetings
- Moira Deeming complained to the party’s executive about irregularities in the delegate selection process, including early voting, lack of ID checks, and ineligible members voting
- Deeming called for the ballots to be declared invalid and re-run, but the executive rejected her request
- About 70 people were expected to take part in Sunday’s vote, including delegates from western suburbs branches, a random pool of metropolitan Melbourne members, and the executive
- Phones of those in attendance were confiscated, with the final result expected at about 3pm
- Bev McArthur, a conservative powerbroker, survived a challenge by Trent Sullivan on Saturday to hold the No.1 ticket spot in the Western Victoria region
- A source closer to McArthur described her win as a 'crushing blow' to Philip Davis’ moderate grouping and a 'rebuke' of those in the party that underestimated her popularity
- Renee Heath withstood a challenge for the top spot in eastern Victoria by journalist Sue Smethurst, while Ann-Marie Hermans was relegated to second position in the south-eastern metropolitan region
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- ABC reports Moira Deeming received 26 votes, while The Guardian states the final tally was not publicly released and other media reported a slightly different figure
- ABC states Moira Deeming did not contest for other spots on the ballot, but The Guardian does not mention this detail
- The Guardian mentions Deeming called for ballots to be declared invalid and re-run, but ABC does not mention this specific complaint
- The Guardian reports about 70 people took part in the vote, while ABC and The Age do not specify this exact number
- The Age states John Pesutto was not present for the vote, but ABC does not mention his absence during the preselection meeting
Source Articles
Liberals dump Moira Deeming from ticket for next state election
Controversial Victorian MP Moira Deeming has lost her preselection battle for the state election, with Liberal Party members replacing her with business leader Dinesh Gourisetty....
Moira Deeming dumped: MP loses Liberal preselection battle
Deeming quickly left the party’s headquarters without comment on Sunday after losing the hard-fought ballot, fuelling speculation she could defect to One Nation or the Libertarians....
D-day for Moira Deeming as she faces preselection challenge for Victorian Liberal seat
Party members to determine MP’s political future after Dinesh Gourisetty also nominated for upper house seat Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Moira Deeming’s political futu...