Overview
- Moira Deeming, replaced Sunday in a delegates’ vote at party headquarters, lost the Western Metropolitan Region’s top upper-house spot to business leader Dinesh Gourisetty.
- Gourisetty is under pressure to withdraw over a 2024 character reference for a man facing grooming charges, and party figures say his endorsement would be hard to support, though he has not withdrawn.
- Deeming did not seek the second position and left the meeting without comment, while fellow MP Trung Luu holds the No. 2 slot on the ticket.
- Deeming drew public backing from Tony Abbott, Peta Credlin and party leader Jess Wilson, reflecting faction strain that has followed her high-profile defamation win against former leader John Pesutto.
- Reporters and party insiders are speculating that Deeming could defect to One Nation or another minor right-wing party, a shift that could split the conservative vote ahead of November’s state election.