Exiled Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming’s political fate will be decided after threatening to take state party leader John Pesutto to court.
Victorian Liberal MPs will gather for a special meeting on Friday morning to vote on a motion to expel Ms Deeming for “bringing discredit” to the parliamentary party.
As the meeting loomed, Ms Deeming’s lawyer on Thursday morning served a defamation concerns notice to Mr Pesutto, AAP has confirmed.
It warned Ms Deeming may initiate court proceedings if he did not immediately withdraw the motion, publish an apology to her on his website and pay her compensation and legal costs, according to The Australian.
Mr Pesutto’s office and Ms Deeming were contacted for comment.
Ms Deeming last week demanded the Victorian Liberal leader agree to issue a media statement exonerating her of being a Nazi or Nazi sympathiser or face legal action.
She appeared to back down on Saturday, saying she never considered suing the Liberal Party and instead contemplated legal mediation as a way to settle on the conditions of her suspension.
Polwarth MP Richard Riordan, an ally of Ms Deeming, wrote to Mr Pesutto earlier in the week to urge him to delay the meeting over fears the motion was technically invalid and could led to a messy legal dispute.
The request was ignored.
Deputy Victorian Liberal Party leader David Southwick said it was clear which way the motion was heading.
“People want to see this put to one side,” he told reporters on Thursday.
It will be the second time the party considers expelling Ms Deeming after she attended an anti-transgender rights rally in Melbourne where neo-Nazis performed the “heil Hitler” salute.
A compromise was struck when the first Mr Pesutto-led motion, supported by a 15-page dossier accusing the MP of protesting alongside people who were “known to be publicly associated with far right-wing extremist groups including neo-Nazi activists”, failed to garner enough support.
Ms Deeming is banned from party room meetings under the terms of her suspension but will be allowed to attend on Friday to defend herself.
The upper house MP will remain on the crossbench permanently if expelled.
– AAP
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