MP is booted after appearing at a rally crashed by “Nazis”.
Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto will expel outspoken MP Moira Deeming from the Parliament party over the weekend for her role in an anti-trans rally.
Ms Deeming spoke at Britain’s anti-trans campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s “Let Women Speak” event outside the Victorian Parliament on Saturday.
The rally was attended by members of the Nazi movement, who repeatedly performed the Nazi salute and held up signs with offensive names of transgender people, sparking violent clashes with hundreds of counter-protesters.
Police Association of Victoria Secretary Wayne Gatt said officers prevented a brawl between the groups but were powerless to stop the neo-Nazi actions.
Mr Pesutto said on Sunday the scenes of black-clad white supremacists marching along Spring Street were an “abomination” and “affront” to values all Victorians should cherish.
He said he met Ms Deeming on Sunday afternoon and discussed her involvement in organizing, promoting and attending the rally. Mr Pesutto said Ms Deeming’s position was “untenable” and that he would table a motion at the next party hall meeting to have her expelled from the parliamentary Liberal Party.
“This is not about free speech, but about a member of the Parliament Party associating with people whose views abhor my values, the values of the Liberal Party and the wider community,” Pesutto said in a statement.
“Regardless of religious belief, race, sexual preference and identity, Victorians everywhere should know that the Liberal Party is inclusive and can be a voice for them.”
Speaking to ABC Monday morning, Federal Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said she was shocked by the scenes over the weekend and disagreed with the organizers of the rally, who claim to be speaking on behalf of women while espousing anti-trans views .
“Hard to believe those scenes came from Australia,” she said. “It is very disappointing that we have gotten into the situation where this is happening on our streets in front of our Parliament.”
Who is Moira Deeming?
Ms Deeming was elected to the Victorian Parliament last year as MP for the western metropolitan area, replacing controversial MP Bernie Finn.
In a post on social media, Ms Deeming, a former teacher and councilwoman for the city of Melton, said she was disappointed with Victoria Police for allowing masked men into the rally’s buffer zone.
“Police managed to stop hordes of (trans rights activists) but somehow only managed to get masked men past us (when) they gave a horrible Nazi salute,” she said on Twitter.
Deputy Prime Minister Jacinta Allan said the state government, which banned public displays of the Nazi swastika last year, is evaluating what further action it could take to address Saturday’s “disgraceful” scenes.
“The government has absolutely zero tolerance for this type of behavior and we will continue to work very, very hard to address what is behind these disgraceful acts,” she said on Sunday.
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