Source : Perth Now news
Liberal MP Moira Deeming has apologised to Victorians for the turmoil surrounding her long-running clash with her party, admitting the saga has become a distraction as she fights to stay on the ballot for November’s state election.
The embattled MP made the remarks in a social media video after winning a temporary Supreme Court reprieve that paused her party’s attempt to strip her of preselection.
Ms Deeming was facing a vote by the Liberal Party’s state executive last Friday on whether she should remain its candidate.
The move came after she refused to apologise to former opposition leader Matthew Guy, following Victoria Police’s dismissal of her claim that he had put her in a headlock.
Instead, Ms Deeming launched Supreme Court action against her own party and secured a two-week delay.
A one-day hearing later this month is set to examine her claim that the planned move against her breached procedural fairness, despite the party inviting her to address the state executive.
In a video posted on Monday, Ms Deeming thanked supporters and acknowledged the impact the dispute had on her constituents and the wider public.
“I hope you know you can still trust me,” Ms Deeming said.
“I think it’s time that I address the fact that there have been so many distractions, so many huge distractions that have taken away from the work that you as my constituents and Victorians really needed to be done.
“I am genuinely so, so sorry that all of these things over the past three and a half years have happened.”
The pressure intensified after Victoria Police reviewed CCTV from a crowded Macedonian community event in Sunshine on May 23.
The footage was said to show Mr Guy placing a hand on Ms Deeming’s shoulder during a conversation, rather than putting her in a headlock as she had alleged.
Current Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has backed Mr Guy’s demand for an apology.
In her video, Ms Deeming described the ordeal as draining and said she was trying to move ahead.
“It has been an emotional, confusing and exhausting few years,” she said.
“The simple fact is that things go wrong in life and you have to just pick yourself up and keep going forward. That’s what I intend to do.”
In a statement issued through her lawyer last week, she said she had misunderstood the meaning of the word “headlock”.
However, she maintained she would not apologise for making a false allegation because she believed it was made in good faith.
