Moira Deeming launches legal action as party meeting on her future looms

Liberal MP Moira Deeming has launched legal action against the party's state president ahead of a meeting to decide her candidacy in the coming state election. Liberal Party powerbrokers are set to determine Mrs Deeming's pre-selection as an upper house candidate, after the MP refused to apologise to party room colleague Matthew Guy. Mrs Deeming had alleged Mr Guy put her in a headlock at a Macedonian community event but police dismissed her complaint after reviewing CCTV footage. Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming has launched legal action in the Supreme Court against the Liberal Party state president ahead of a meeting to decide her political future. But Mrs Deeming has lodged a case against the Liberal state president Brian Loughnane, with the matter due to be heard at 9:30am today. The Liberals have been preparing for Mrs Deeming to mount a legal challenge ahead of the planned meeting to determine her candidacy at the next state election. The crunch meeting was called over Mrs Deeming's refusal to apologise to her party room colleague Matthew Guy over allegations Mr Guy put her in a headlock at a Macedonian community event in Melbourne's western suburbs last month. The upper house MP first took her complaint to the state opposition leader's office before reporting the allegation to Victoria Police. Police dismissed her complaint last week after reviewing security camera footage of the interaction. Footage showed Mr Guy placing his hand on Mrs Deeming's back at the crowded Sunshine venue. On Monday, Mrs Deeming released a statement through her lawyer, saying she had misunderstood the meaning of the term "headlock". Tonight Mrs Deeming will be invited to present to the meeting about why she should keep her top spot on the Western Metropolitan ticket. The executive is not seeking to kick Mrs Deeming out of the Liberal Party as a rank-and-file member, or parliamentary party room. Three-quarters of the 18-person executive will need to agree to disendorse Mrs Deeming. Mrs Deeming had accepted a request to meet with Mrs Wilson, but leader of opposition business James Newbury on Tuesday said that was now off the table given her refusal to apologise to Mr Guy. "A request was made for her to make an unqualified apology. She has refused to do that," Mr Newbury said earlier this week. "There is no ambiguity. I did not do what's alleged," he said. "The CCTV proves this; it did from the start, and Victoria Police agree. "Moira Deeming owes me a public apology." One Nation rules out recruiting Mrs Deeming On Thursday, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson ruled out drafting Mrs Deeming as a candidate despite a number of high-profile Coalition recruits such as former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce and ex-Liberal senator Cory Bernardi. "No. I don't want her. No, no," Senator Hanson told 3AW on Thursday. "I know she's had a lot of support … based on her allegations against a Liberal Party colleague of hers, that were proven to be … no charges were laid, refused to make an apology. You don't do that to your fellow colleagues. "And it tells me a person that's not prepared to admit they got it wrong and back away from it." A former teacher, Mrs Deeming previously stood as a Liberal Party candidate for St Albans at the 2014 state election and in an unwinnable position on the Liberal Western Metropolitan ticket at the 2018 election. In July 2022, Mrs Deeming replaced veteran MP Bernie Finn as the top Liberal candidate for the Western Metropolitan region after Mr Finn was expelled from the Liberal Party for a series of controversial social media posts.