Moira Deeming could secure the top spot on a Victorian Liberal ticket – if she still wants it – after potential challengers were given only 36 hours to prepare nominations for a rerun preselection ballot, in what some insiders call a “stitch up”.
It came after Deeming was on Sunday ousted from the number one spot for the western metropolitan region by Dinesh Gourisetty. But by Monday night, the Victorian Liberal party executive resolved to hold a fresh preselection, after Gourisetty was deemed ineligible to stand as a candidate at the November state election due to a character reference he provided for a friend convicted of sexually assaulting a child.
The party’s president, Philip Davis, wrote to members at about 11.10pm on Tuesday, advising that nominations would open that night and close at midday on Thursday.
Liberal members, who requested anonymity so they could speak frankly, said the short nomination window appeared to be designed to prevent new candidates from nominating. Deeming and fellow upper house MP Trung Luu, who both contested Sunday’s ballot, do not need to renominate.
“What they [the executive] want is for no one else to nominate so Moira gets it by default without a preselection convention,” one moderate Liberal member said, adding that the same delegates from Sunday’s vote – the majority of whom backed Gourisetty – would take part.
“If it goes to a convention, she could very well lose again. So this whole thing has been cooked up to stitch it up for her.”
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailAnother member said the timeline forced prospective candidates to “work all day and all night” to pull together a highly detailed application that generally takes up to a week to compile.
This includes getting references from at least two people, 10 signatures from eligible party members, a national police check and a credit report. Candidates also have to complete an 18-page questionnaire designed to unearth anything that could embarrass the party, such as past drug use, dating app activity, or visits to brothels or strip clubs.
They must also pay a $5,000 application fee, most of which goes to an external consultancy responsible for vetting – though the process is now under review after it failed to flag Gourisetty’s character reference.
One member said the paperwork could technically be completed in a day, but the fee could be a barrier.
“There’s no doubt the short timeframe favours Deeming,” they said.
A party figure, who was unauthorised to speak publicly, said there was an initial push for a 24-hour nomination window, but it was extended to 36 hours to ensure there was enough time to complete the application. They said candidates would only need to provide evidence that they have applied for their police and credit checks.
According to the party’s constitution, anyone who had already applied for Sunday’s preselection and not withdrawn their application “shall be deemed to have applied for endorsement”.
Deeming and Luu – who subsequently secured the second spot – were approached for comment.
It is understood Deeming is on personal leave, having notified the opposition leader, Jess Wilson, on Tuesday she would not be back until after Easter.
Several Liberals, including Deeming’s detractors, have said they believe the upper house MP would be re-endorsed, in an effort contain the messy factional war engulfing the party before the November election.
Despite this, calls were being made by senior party figures on Wednesday morning to several prospective candidates urging them to nominate.
