Moira Deeming is an Australian politician. She is a former member of the parliamentary Liberal Party and is currently an Independent Liberal member of the Victorian Legislative Council, representing the Western Metropolitan Region since November 2022. She was previously a councillor for the Melton City Council representing the Watts Ward.[4]
Moira Deeming | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Victorian Legislative Council for Western Metropolitan Region | |
| Assumed office 26 November 2022 | |
| Member of the Melton City Council | |
| Assumed office 5 November 2020 | |
| Constituency | Watts Ward |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Independent Liberal (since 2023)[1][2] |
| Other political affiliations | Liberal[a] |
| Children | 4 |
| Occupation |
|
On 27 March 2023, she was suspended from the parliamentary Liberal Party for nine months. A week earlier, it had been announced by the leader of the opposition, John Pesutto, that he would move to have her expelled from the parliamentary Liberal Party after she spoke at an anti-trans rally outside the Victorian Parliament.[5][6] The rally was attended by neo-Nazi groups who repeatedly performed Nazi salutes from the steps of Parliament.[7] She was expelled from the parliamentary party room on 12 May 2023.[8][9]
Early life, personal life and education
Deeming was "born and bred on the political left coming from a long line of union leaders, card-carrying Labor Party members, and Labor MPs".[10] Her great-grandfather was John Joseph Holland, a western suburbs Labor MP for over thirty-five years as well as a councillor for the city of Melbourne.[11]
Deeming is Presbyterian,[4] though attended the Catholic high school St. Francis Xavier College.[12]
Deeming identifies as being Māori.[13]
Deeming has a Bachelor of International Relations from La Trobe University and a Post-Graduate Diploma of Education from the University of Melbourne.[14] She previously worked as a teacher for over a decade.[4]
Political views
Deeming described the anti-bullying and inclusion program Safe Schools as "sleazy".[15] In 2020 she described the "watch and wait" approach for treating gender dysphoria as "highly successful, low risk"[16]—in line with the Liberal Party's statement that while they oppose conversion therapy, the Andrews' government legislation "allows government interference in the relationships between medical professionals and patients," and "unfairly targets psychiatry and psychotherapy specifically".[17]
On 18 March 2023, Deeming spoke at an anti-trans rally, which was part of anti-transgender rights activist Kellie Jay Keen's speaking tour.[18]
She is anti-abortion and believes that laws legalising abortion need to be repealed,[19][20] and believes that rape victims should reject abortions and turn to God and to the church instead.[21] She is against voluntary euthanasia.[20]
Deeming is against the COVID-19 vaccine mandates, and considers vaccine passports "immoral" and a form of "segregation".[22] As of September 2021 she said in an interview that she was unvaccinated, and that she'll be "waiting" and that she is "reserving her judgement" due to "concerns".[23]
Deeming is against changing the date of Australia Day.[24] She is a member of the conservative think-tank Institute of Public Affairs.[25]
Political career
2014 Victorian state election
Deeming stood as a candidate for the Liberal Party in the lower house for the seat of St Albans at the 2014 Victorian state election. She secured 26.9% of the vote, losing to the Labor Party's Natalie Suleyman.[26]
2018 Victorian state election
In 2018 at the state election Deeming stood as a candidate for the Liberal Party for the upper house Western Metropolitan Region seat in the Victorian Legislative Council. She received 356 first preference votes (0.08%) and failed to gain a seat.[27]
2020 Melton local election
Deeming stood as a candidate for Watts Ward at the 2020 Melton local election on 24 October, receiving 21.49% of the primary vote and successfully securing the second allocation.[28][29]
2022 Federal election
Following the 2022 Australian federal election, it was reported in The Age that on 26 March the Victorian Liberal Party's administrative committee voted for Deeming to run in the lower house seat of Gorton.[30] Before she was able to be endorsed, a top party official relayed the view of Scott Morrison's Office that "negative media coverage of Deeming's hardline social views could distract" from Morrison's campaign.[30] Reportedly, another vote was held and a different candidate was picked.[30]
2022 Victorian state election
On 23 July, Deeming was endorsed by the Liberal Party to contest the upper house Western Metropolitan Region seat in the Victorian Legislative Council to replace Bernie Finn at the Victorian state election.[24]
Deeming's preselection was considered controversial because she replaced the similarly right-wing Bernie Finn at the top of the Liberal ticket, following Finn's expulsion from the Liberal Party after making "inflammatory social media posts".[31] Finn, who contested the election as a Democratic Labour Party candidate, was reported to be "delighted" at Deeming's preselection.[32] Andrew Elsbury, a moderate Liberal Party member who held the seat from 2010–2014 quit the party in response to her preselection, describing it as the "final straw".[33] Deeming was successfully elected to the Legislative Council.
In Deeming's maiden speech before parliament, she criticised critical social justice in school curriculums and the "decriminalisation of sex work".[34]
Anti-trans rally
On 18 March 2023, Deeming spoke at an anti-trans rally, organised by Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull in Melbourne, which was also attended by the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Network (NSN) and its leader Thomas Sewell as well as Nathan Bull, a neo-Nazi son of a police officer.[35][9] The neo-Nazis repeatedly engaged in Nazi salutes and carried far-right extremist banners (including one that compared transgender people to paedophiles), directed at a counter protest of the anti-trans rally, which had been organised by LGBT activists.[18][7]
In a public statement describing Deeming's position as "untenable" due to her "involvement in organising, promoting and participating in a rally with speakers and other organisers who themselves have been publicly associated with far right-wing extremist groups including neo-Nazi activists", Liberal opposition leader John Pesutto moved to expel her from the party.[18] An attempt was made by fellow MPs Brad Battin and Richard Riordan to delay the expulsion a week, but the move failed, losing the vote 18 to 11. It was believed that Deeming was also supported by Chris Crewther, Matthew Guy, Bill Tilley, David Hodgett, and Ann-Marie Hermans.[36]
Liberal MPs reportedly pressured Pesutto to find a less severe punishment over her role in the rally due to the in-fighting the rally has caused in the party.[37]
In the end, a compromise was made with Deeming accepting a nine-month suspension from the party instead of expulsion from the party. The compromise came after Deeming issued a private statement in the party room, condemning Keen-Minshull's previous use of a Barbie wearing a Nazi uniform on her social media as a "poor distasteful joke".[38]
During her suspension from the party, Deeming threatened party leader Pesutto with legal action, but backed away after a fresh attempt was made to oust her from the party. This second effort, led by former party leader Matthew Guy, saw Deeming back away from her threat of legal action.[39]
Expulsion from the Liberal Party
Deeming reportedly returned to threatening the Liberal Party leader again after sending a letter reiterating the threat of a defamation case.[40] On 12 May 2023 Deeming was expelled from the parliamentary party room by 19 votes to 11.[8][9] Deeming subsequently filled a civil complaint against Pesutto.[41] The hearing has set down for a hearing beginning on 16 September 2024.[41]
Despite her expulsion, Deeming has re-iterated that she would never quit or resign from the party. In an interview with Sky News Australia's Peta Credlin, Deeming stated that she had been "betrayed" by the party and "relentlessly hunted" out of the party room following the anti-trans rally.[42]
As a result of her expulsion, Deeming now sits as an Independent Liberal[1][2] — a label often used to designate politicians who are members of the Liberal Party yet who are not members of the party's parliamentary caucus.