Victorian Liberal Party leader John Pesutto has backed away from his move to expel Liberal MP Moira Deeming from the party, opting instead for a nine-month suspension.
The move follows Deeming’s appearance at the women’s rights rally ‘Let Women Speak’ rally on March 18 which was overtaken by a neo-Nazi protest and marred by violence by clashes between the police and trans-activists who had deemed the rally as having an anti-trans agenda.
Pesutto, on March 27, said that Deeming had provided condemnation of the types of conduct“ in social media activity by key speakers at the rally.”
“The new material she supplied this morning opened the doorway to a sensible proposal that I put to the party room that saw her accept the nine months [suspension], losing the party whip position as well,” he said.
“Given Moira had provided what I had been seeking and recognised why it was important to do that,” he said. “The conduct that I wanted condemned has been condemned.”
He called the party room meeting “very emotional” but noted it was a watershed moment for changing the culture in the Victorian Liberal Party.
She said that the move to expel her was an inflection point for the Liberal party in Victoria. The party must choose between accepting a false premise that anyone who exercises their democratic right to speak out publicly in a reasonable, constructive, and legal manner on an issue affecting them should be placed in the same basket as others who attend an event. Or draw a line in the sand and stand on our principles.
“I believe that Victorians want us as Liberals to stand up to the bullying,” she said. “They’ve had enough of the spin and the slander. And enough of women and girls being silenced about the extraordinary challenges we face.”
“My intention is to fight and remain a member of the team. I hope that my colleagues draw the line and say enough and that I am able to fight alongside them.”
Pesutto Backdown Comes After Senior Liberals Show Support For Deeming
Despite Peustto denying his decision to walk away from the expulsion was a backdown, it comes after senior figures in the Liberal party criticised the Victorian Liberal leader for the move.Former Liberal Senator Eric Abetz, in an op-ed for The Epoch Times, has asked why the state Liberal leader moved to expel Deeming before allowing her time to explain the situation.
“Would the Liberal leader resign if, at a public meeting he attended, an uninvited attendee rose to his feet and undertook an offensive nazi salute (a tautology if ever there was one)? Surely not,” Abetz said.
“One trusts an explanation would be given, stating that this was not what he was attending, and he cannot be held responsible for other people’s actions, especially ones completely outside of his control.”
Meanwhile, current Liberal senator for South Australia, Alex Antic, said that the rally held in Melbourne, which was overtaken by the Nazi protest, was designed to let women speak about their concerns around biological men being able to access spaces like bathrooms and women’s sports.
“The movement is rightfully concerned about biological men undermining the integrity of women’s sports and spaces such as bathrooms. They’re absolutely correct to be concerned; I am too,” he said.
“It’s a shameful reflection on the lazy partisan media and our political classes that Ms Deeming would be vilified for something over which she had absolutely no control. How is this different from a member of the Australian Labor Party or the Australian Greens attending a rally for Palestine, which is descended upon by antisemitic or union thugs? The answer to that is it’s no different at all.
“The only thing that’s different here is the media, and the political class cannot find the requisite spine to stand for a principle. Is this the low-water mark of our free speech and our democracy, to now be defined by those who gatecrash an event?”
