Victorian Upper House member Moira Deeming is one of the most loved and respected conservatives anywhere in the country – which is a miracle given she comes from what used to be known as ‘Danistan’.
On March 29, she faces a pre-selection challenge.
These pre-selections are run under a Liberal Party system, whose rules have been democratically voted for and agreed upon at past conventions and councils.
Despite this, her seat is not safe.
There is a genuine concern that Moira will lose her spot in favour of identity politics, signifying the Victorian Liberal Party’s final act of ritual harakiri, plunging them into political irrelevance.
I have over 40 years of experience inside the Liberal Party, and it is my belief that the rules that govern the system do not guarantee that the best candidates, such as Moira, will succeed.
Jess Wilson, the newly elected Victorian Liberal Leader, must face reality.
If Moira is cast out, conservatives will punish the party at the next election and vote them into oblivion. We know this from feedback received by our Liberal Reform Association. Real Victorians are furious at even the suggestion that Moira could be lost to the party.
Perhaps we should send their correspondence to the focus groups…
If this decision were solely in the hands of the 500 (or so) Liberal Party members in her electorate, I have no doubt that Moira would be delivered a landslide in the pre-selection. But these members are, ultimately, not the only ones responsible for the decision.
The complex delegate system gives the pre-selection an additional layer of complexity, which is being done according to the rules. The rules are the problem.
Liberal Party members have already been frustrated by the damning result of this pre-selection mechanism which has delivered generations of politicians with little merit who do not share the core values of the party members. We call them moderates.
In this pre-selection system, there is no pretence of ‘one vote, one value’. It is, in my view, undemocratic to its core.
The Liberal Party has ended up with a culturally and economically conservative membership being represented by left-wing progressives. With the rise of One Nation cannibalising the conservative ecosystem, the Liberal Party must change if it is to survive.
Not just change its policies – but change its state constitutions to ensure the repair work is permanent.
If Moira loses her pre-selection, who replaces her?
Her major challenge is coming from Dinesh Gourisetty, described by The Guardian as a ‘prominent figure in Melbourne’s fastest growing Indian community’. On social media, he plays up his ‘green’ credentials and heavily promotes the narrative of multiculturalism. He could be described as Teal-ish in ideology and would, in my opinion, fit Jess Wilson’s party line which has become increasingly dominated by identity politics.
Prominent members of the state and federal party have started to congregate around Dinesh. Will they back his pre-selection over Moira Deeming?
No doubt the logic behind this for the party comes from their desire to win over the growing Indian community in the Western suburbs and head off any intention for this bloc to vote for Labor (as is often the statistical case in multicultural suburbs).
The gamble is Dinesh will hold the seat over the enormously popular Moira by using the left-wing maths of identity politics. It is not a plan that conservative voters or members tolerate.
Federally, the Liberal Party almost collapsed with their deliberate choice of a female leader, Sussan Ley, to represent ‘a modern party’. It was a disaster. Overwhelmingly, conservatives are seeking competence, trust, honesty, and the indescribable soul of Liberal principle. Moira has been tested in fires lit by the moderate faction and survived as somewhat of a hero. She represents the core resistance against the oppression of the wets.
This makes her pre-selection more than a local matter. It is a Litmus test for the Liberal Party.
I have described the problem, but how do we save Moira?
The larger the Liberal Party membership, the more democratic its process. In the last few decades, complex vetting rules, expulsions, and other means have whittled the membership down to its lowest point. There are so few members involved in a pre-selection that ‘extra’ random pre-selectors can be invited from nearby seats.
They may – or may not – vote accordingly to the wishes of the local membership.
These are the rules that were agreed to, but we would seek to change them. The whole system needs a complete reform.
Changing the constitution to prevent these random extras and increase the size of the membership would ensure that pre-selections remain decided only by those in the relevant electorate.
The problem is, anyone who tries to fix the constitution is promptly suspended or expelled. After all, there is no greater crime to Liberal Head Office than trying to save the party from itself.
There are lots of reasons why conservatives would like to see Moira victorious – chief among them is the protection of children.
Factions within Labor, the Greens, and the Liberals seek to protect the trans activist agenda – that is the policies and censorial controls around ‘gender affirmation’. This includes everything from the controversial inclusion of gender identity in pre-schools all the way up to disturbing infringements on parental control when it comes to beginning the transition process for children. Around the world, this activist ideology is coming under legal threat and moral opposition.
As a champion of women’s rights and biological reality, Moira has already had to fight her way through the conversation thanks to attacks from her own party.
Her strength is not in question. Voters know where she stands – and they agree with her.
And while it is clear that some of the more progressive elements within the party want her gone, conservatives will be furious if she’s ousted.
The Victorian Liberals already suffered a major walk-away of voters during that Pesutto nonsense. Moira clawed her way back. For her to lose a pre-selection before the next state election would be an act of madness.
Political parties can survive moments of stupidity, but Jess Wilson is presiding over a party that has made a habit of upsetting its base. Polls show they are ready to walk to Pauline Hanson, even in the absence of candidates.
Moira Deeming is a test for the Victorian Liberals, and Jess Wilson. We will know by the end of March if the party is serious about its state election – or if its happy to quietly collapse.
