Victoria MP Moira Deeming privately pleaded with the Liberal Party last week not to cancel her endorsement for a safe seat over her failed police complaint against colleague Matthew Guy.
In a 12-page submission to the Liberal state executive, which oversees all party operations, Ms Deeming proposed a joint statement that would have said she acted “in good faith” and Mr Guy made “a friendly gesture in a noisy environment”.
“I remain ready, willing and able to choose the path of unity,” she said in the letter. “I ask you to make the same choice.”
The State executive did not agree to her proposal, reflecting widespread anger within the party over her allegation to police that Mr Guy assaulted her at a busy community function in suburban Melbourne several months ago.
The police quickly dismissed the complaint after reviewing video footage that showed Mr Guy placing his hand on her back or shoulder for about three seconds while hundreds of people danced nearby.
Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has said she should apologise to Mr Guy, which she has refused to do.
The Liberal Party’s president in Victoria, Brian Loughnane, declined to comment on Ms Deeming’s letter on Wednesday morning, citing a court case she initiated two weeks ago to prevent the State executive cancelling her endorsement as an Upper House candidate in the Western Metropolitan Region.
The matter will be heard in the Supreme Court on Friday.
In her letter, Ms Deeming complained she was treated unfairly by the executive, which she said gave her two days’ notice of a meeting to decide her fate not long after returning from a political conference in London.
“I was allowed a mere 10 minutes to address the Executive, virtually, at short notice, while severely unwell and jetlagged, having just returned from the UK,” she wrote.
“With no reasons and no specifics provided, understanding the case against me let alone answering it was objectively impossible. That is a denial of natural justice.
“We sent multiple proposals, draft affidavits, and urgent messages seeking conferral to avoid litigation. Every invitation was met with refusal. Only then as an absolute last resort, to protect my basic rights did I seek an urgent Supreme Court injunction.”
Ms Deeming became a hero to conservative members of the Liberal Party for expressing opposition to the transgender rights movement. Many supporters deserted her after she complained about Mr Guy, a former party leader.
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