Moira Deeming quits Victorian Liberal Party and will sit as independent

Victorian MP Moira Deeming has resigned from the parliamentary Liberal Party and says she will continue in parliament as an independent. The Member for Western Metropolitan Region will sit on the crossbench after weeks of internal conflict with the party. Her departure marks a further escalation in a dispute that has already reshaped her position within the opposition.

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Opposition Leader Jess Wilson confirmed on Tuesday that she had received Deeming's resignation from the parliamentary party. Deeming said in a statement posted to social media that her focus would remain on representing her electorate. She also said she remained committed to helping remove the Labor government, which she described as responsible for corruption, debt and crime.

The move follows the party's decision earlier this month to revoke Deeming's candidacy for the upcoming state election. She is a first-term upper house MP and had already been facing the end of her political career as a Liberal candidate. The dispute intensified after she alleged that partyroom colleague Matthew Guy had assaulted her at a community event in May, an allegation police later said did not amount to an offence after reviewing CCTV.

The resignation matters because it deepens instability inside the Victorian opposition at a time when the party is trying to present a united challenge to the government. Deeming's exit also leaves her future in parliament uncertain, with separate reports that she may face bankruptcy proceedings. If that happens, it could force her removal from parliament, adding another layer of uncertainty to an already fraught situation.

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Deeming has been a controversial figure within the party for months, and the latest development follows a prolonged breakdown in relations with colleagues. Her defamation case against former opposition leader John Pesutto earlier in the term also remains part of the wider political backdrop, as she has said she has been unable to repay a loan linked to that action. The sequence of events has turned what began as an internal party dispute into a broader test of discipline and authority within the opposition.

What remains unclear is whether Deeming will continue to hold her seat for the rest of the term and how the party will manage the fallout from her departure. It is also not yet clear whether the bankruptcy issue will progress in a way that affects her parliamentary status. For now, she says she will remain in parliament as an independent MP and continue representing her electorate.

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