Deeming Preselection Re-run: Victorian Liberals Face Upper House Dilemma

Liberal Party Faces Preselection Turmoil in Western Metropolitan Region

The Victorian Liberal Party is embroiled in a significant preselection controversy following a tumultuous weekend that saw a candidate initially chosen for the Western Metropolitan Region upper house seat then forced to withdraw, leading to a re-run of the selection process. This saga has once again thrust controversial MP Moira Deeming back into the spotlight, as the party grapples with internal divisions and the fallout from revelations concerning the withdrawn candidate.

The drama unfolded on Sunday when a preselection battle for the number one spot on the Liberal Party’s Group Voting Ticket for the Western Metropolitan Region took place. In a surprising turn of events, incumbent upper house MP Moira Deeming was not selected. Instead, Dinesh Gourisetty emerged victorious, securing the top position.

However, the victory was short-lived. Within a day, Mr. Gourisetty found himself under immense pressure to step aside from the party. This pressure stemmed from the revelation that he had provided a character reference for Kashyap Patel, a man who had pleaded guilty in 2024 to serious charges including grooming and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl. The County Court judgment, handed down in 2024, detailed Patel’s conviction for grooming a child under 16, transmitting indecent communication to a person under 16, and sexual assault of a child under 16. The court noted that Mr. Gourisetty, described as a “good friend of 4 years” to Patel, had provided a character reference for him.

The Victorian Liberal Party president, Philip Davis, confirmed Mr. Gourisetty’s withdrawal on Monday morning. “Dinesh Gourisetty this morning advised me of his decision to withdraw his candidacy from position 1 on the Liberal Party’s Group Voting Ticket in the Western Metropolitan Region,” Mr. Davis stated. “This was accepted.”

The party’s stance was further solidified by Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson, who made it unequivocally clear that Mr. Gourisetty’s position on the ticket was untenable. “Mr. Gourisetty is not welcome on my team,” Ms. Wilson declared in a statement released on Monday morning.

In a letter addressed to party executives, Mr. Gourisetty defended his actions, asserting that he had provided the character reference in good faith and was unaware of the full extent of the allegations against Patel at the time. “I had no knowledge of the seriousness or full nature of the allegations. I acted in good faith, based on what I knew at the time,” he wrote. He further elaborated, “I do not raise this to compare circumstances directly, but to highlight that such actions have historically been understood as expressions of personal character assessment, not endorsements of wrongdoing.” Mr. Gourisetty also alluded to past instances where other senior Liberal figures had provided character references for individuals facing allegations, suggesting a perceived inconsistency in the party’s reaction.

Despite his defence, Mr. Gourisetty expressed his disappointment with the pressure to withdraw, stating that he felt “pushed towards withdrawing, and even advised to consider resigning from the party I have served with dedication for so many years,” rather than feeling supported.

However, the situation took another turn just hours later. In a subsequent statement, Mr. Davis reiterated that Mr. Gourisetty had indeed withdrawn. “Earlier today Mr Dinesh Gourisetty advised me of his decision to withdraw from the First Position on the Liberal Party’s Group Voting Ticket for the Western Metropolitan Region,” he announced. Mr. Davis added that the Liberal Party had received information of a “serious nature” concerning Mr. Gourisetty after the preselection convention had concluded. Consequently, the Victorian Liberal Party’s State Executive resolved that a new preselection convention would be held for the First Position in the Western Metropolitan Region, and that Mr. Gourisetty would be ineligible to stand as a candidate in this upcoming convention.

This latest preselection battle brings Moira Deeming back into focus. Ms. Deeming, first elected to the Victorian Legislative Council in 2022, has been a divisive figure within the Liberal Party. Her political career has been marked by controversy, most notably her attendance at the “Let Women Speak” rally in 2023, an event that was subsequently gatecrashed by neo-Nazi demonstrators. While Ms. Deeming publicly condemned the actions of the neo-Nazis, she faced severe repercussions within the party. She was initially suspended and then expelled from the parliamentary Liberal Party. This expulsion followed her threat to take defamation action against the then-leader, John Pesutto. Ms. Deeming eventually returned to the party room after a successful defamation lawsuit against Mr. Pesutto, where a court ruled that he had defamed her by implying she associated with or sympathised with Nazis. The current preselection re-run means Ms. Deeming will once again have the opportunity to contest the top spot, a development that is sure to reignite internal party debates and public scrutiny.