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

The Guardian · · 905 words · By Benita Kolovos
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/31/victorian-liberals-plan-o…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

13 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

help Insufficient Evidence 7
verified Verified By Reference 3
schedule Pending 3
verified
“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 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 — 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…
verified
“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
“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
“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 — 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 — 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
help
“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.
help
“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
“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.
help
“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
“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.
help
“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.
schedule
“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
schedule
“Deeming has not commented publicly since the vote and did not appear to attend parliament on Tuesday.”
PENDING
schedule
“The moderates, in attempting to remove Deeming, have once again placed her at the centre of the story.”
PENDING
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.