‘Are we frustrated? Yes. Surprised? No’: how Victorian Liberal moderates’ plan to oust Moira Deeming went horribly wrong

The Guardian · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · Mar 31, 2026 · 905 words · By Benita Kolovos

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What to know about ‘Are we frustrated? Yes. Surprised? No’: how Victorian Liberal moderates’ plan to oust Moira Deeming went horribly wrong

For months, a plan has been under way by moderates within the Victorian Liberal party to dislodge a group of conservative women from their prized, top positions on the upper house ballot ahead of the November state election.

Claims checked 13

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left14%

Center72%

Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

While they failed to move Bev McArthur and Renee Heath, and Ann-Marie Hermans held on in the second spot, they did claim one major victory by ousting Moira Deeming – by far the most high-profile of the group.

Common ground

On Sunday, Dinesh Gourisetty secured the party’s number one position in the western metropolitan region – thanks to both the support of the local branches and moderate grouping on the executive committee.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: ‘Are we frustrated? Yes. Surprised? No’: how Victorian Liberal moderates’ plan to oust Moira Deeming went horribly wrong?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The moderates, in attempting to remove Deeming, have once again placed her at the centre of the story?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/31/victorian-liberals-plan-o…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

help Insufficient Evidence 7

schedule Pending 3

verified Verified By Reference 3

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Claim 1: “The moderates, in attempting to remove Deeming, have once again placed her at the centre of the story.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 2: “The party’s constitutional committee will meet to determine how to proceed, though a plain reading of the document suggests it will be effectively rerun.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 3: “They did claim one major victory by ousting Moira Deeming – by far the most high-profile of the group.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia entries confirm Moira Deeming's position but provide no evidence about her removal. No sources mention moderates ousting her from ballot.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Victorian state election will be held on 28 November 2026 to elect the 61st Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly and all 40 seats in the Legislative Council will b…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Victorian_state_election

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Moira Deeming is an Australian politician and member of the Victorian Liberal Party. She has been a member of the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of Victoria, for the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moira_Deeming

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Victorian Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division), and branded as Liberal Victoria, is the state division of the Liberal Party of Australia in Victor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_Liberal_Party

help

Claim 4: “The executive resolved to hold a fresh preselection – and ruled that Gourisetty would not be eligible to stand.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence found in Wikipedia or other sources about Gourisetty's exclusion from ballot.

help

Claim 5: “Dinesh Gourisetty secured the party’s number one position in the western metropolitan region – thanks to both the support of the local branches and moderate grouping on the executive committee.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence found in Wikipedia or other sources about Dinesh Gourisetty's preselection position or supporting factors.

verified

Claim 6: “Deeming did not contest the second position, which went to the incumbent upper house MP Trung Luu.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia entries show Trung Luu and Moira Deeming both held Western Metropolitan Region seats since 2022, but no evidence about succession or ballot changes.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ann-Marie Hermans is an Australian politician and a member of the Liberal Party. She has served as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council, representing the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region sin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann-Marie_Hermans

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Trung Luu is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Victorian Liberal Party and is a member of the Victorian Legislative Council, representing the Western Metropolitan Region since November 2…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trung_Luu

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Claim 7: “Candidates pay thousands to nominate for preselection: about $5,000 in Liberal-held seats and $3,000 in others, though fees are sometimes waived in Labor strongholds.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence found in Wikipedia or other sources about preselection fee structures.

verified

Claim 8: “A plan has been under way by moderates within the Victorian Liberal party to dislodge a group of conservative women from their prized, top positions on the upper house ballot ahead of the November state election.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia entries only mention 2025 leadership spill, 2026 election dates, and general information about Moderates faction. No specific evidence about removing conservative women from upper house ballot positions.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 Victorian Liberal Party leadership spill was held on 18 November 2025 to elect the leader of the Victorian Liberal Party and, ex officio, Leader of the Opposition. Following a successful lead…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Victorian_Liberal_Party_l…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Moderates, also known as Modern Liberals, Small-L Liberals Liberal Left, or The Mods, are a faction comprising the members, supporters and voters of the Liberal Party of Australia who are typicall…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moderates_(Liberal_Party_of_Au…

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Claim 9: “All candidates who initially nominated, except for Gourisetty, could be included in the vote unless they withdraw.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence found in Wikipedia or other sources about ballot inclusion criteria.

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Claim 10: “The party is understood to be adding a specific question to the form about participation in court cases, whether as a witness or character reference.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence found in Wikipedia or other sources about ballot question additions.

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Claim 11: “Gourisetty’s involvement in a publicly accessible court matter appears to have gone unnoticed.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence found in Wikipedia or other sources about Gourisetty's court involvement.

help

Claim 12: “An email sent to the executive committee revealed Gourisetty had recently provided a character reference for a friend convicted of sexually assaulting a child.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence found in Wikipedia or other sources about Gourisetty's character reference disclosure.

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Claim 13: “Deeming has not commented publicly since the vote and did not appear to attend parliament on Tuesday.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.