Liberal MP Moira Deeming (centre) speaks to media outside the Federal Court of Australia in Melbourne, Australia on Dec. 12, 2024. AAP Image/Joel Carrett
Outspoken MP Moira Deeming has quit the Victorian Liberal Party to become an independent for the remainder of the parliamentary term.
The upper house MP on July 28 confirmed she would sit on the crossbench after the Liberal Party disendorsed her as a candidate for the Western Metropolitan region in the November state election.
“My focus has always been, and will continue to be, on representing the needs and concerns of everyday Australians,” Deeming said in a statement.
“I was elected to fight for freedom, fair laws, and families.
“To save our state from the endemic corruption, crushing debt, and the rising crime crisis, Labor has got to go.”
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson confirmed she had received Deeming’s resignation.
The state executive revoked Deeming’s candidacy in an unanimous vote on July 18 after she declined to apologise over unsubstantiated claims of violence against former leader Matthew Guy.
The MP accused Guy of grabbing her ‘‘violently’‘ in a headlock at a community event in May, but later claimed she misunderstood the meaning of “headlock’.’
Guy told reporters in June that Deeming owed him a public apology, vehemently denying anything untoward took place.
A police investigation concluded no offence was detected at the event.
Deeming has not indicated whether she will run as a candidate in the November election.
She successfully sued former leader John Pesutto for defamation in 2024 when he implied she was associated with neo-Nazis after they gatecrashed a rally at parliament she attended.
It caused Pesutto to lose the leadership and paved the way for her to return to the parliamentary Liberal fold.
By Eleanor Wilson in Melbourne
