Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming has vowed to fight a push to expel her from the party, and condemned neo-Nazis who crashed a rally at state parliament.
Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto wants to expel Ms Deeming from the parliamentary Liberal party after she spoke at British anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s Let Women Speak event outside Victorian parliament on Saturday.
The rally was attended by members of the National Socialist Movement who repeatedly performed the Nazi salute and held signs calling transgender people offensive names, sparking violent clashes with hundreds of counter-protesters.
Mr Pesutto said Ms Deeming’s expulsion was necessary because of her association with organisers with links to extremists, including neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
On Monday, Ms Deeming said she’d fight the expulsion bid.
“I condemn the actions of the masked men in black who were later identified as neo-Nazis, who gate-crashed the Let Women Speak event,” she said.
“Most of the LWS supporters did not realise who they were until they were being escorted out by Victoria Police, when they did the despicable Nazi salute. I completely reject the beliefs of National Socialists (Nazis) and I have seen first-hand the impact that the Holocaust had on a family member.”
Ms Deeming said the expulsion motion was unjust.
“Our shared Liberal traditions ensure robust freedom of thought and speech in our pluralist society but not at the cost of public order and/or an incitement to violence such as this,” she said.
Earlier, Ms Deeming suggested she wasn’t aware of the rally organiser’s links to extremists. But Mr Pesutto found that hard to believe.
“I don’t think it’s open to me to be satisfied that Moira didn’t know about their history,” he said on Monday.
“It took us all of about 20 minutes or so after the rally on Saturday to investigate the histories of these people.”
In her statement, Ms Deeming said no march organisers were involved with the black-clad men who stood on the steps of Parliament to make Nazi salute.
“The Let Women Speak event saw a number of women injured by the extreme left counter-protestors who infiltrated the event,” she said.
“I was assaulted and injured, along with multiple other women, including one who was taken to hospital after being knocked unconscious. They also became violent with police and punched police horses, forcing the event to finish early. I think their actions should be condemned.”
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Victoria to ban Nazi salutes after ugly display
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Mr Pesutto took umbrage with Ms Deeming’s decision to stay at the event when Nazi supporters showed up and celebrate afterwards with rally organisers, whom he said she led through the parliamentary precinct.
“I will never, ever accept any member of the parliamentary Liberal Party under my leadership ever associating with anybody who shares a platform with people who peddle hate, division and attack people for who they are,” he said.
In a Facebook live video with organisers after the rally, Ms Deeming said other politicians were in the crowd.
“They didn’t come up the front with me but they, to their credit, were there listening,” she said.
Mr Pesutto said his advice was that no other Liberal MPs attended the rally but pledged to look into the matter.
Ms Deeming promoted the rally in parliament on March 8 but Mr Pesutto was adamant the Liberal leadership team was unaware of her participation and involvement until after Saturday’s ugly scenes.
“I can’t babysit every MP,” he said.
The expulsion motion is expected to be put to a vote early next week and Mr Pesutto is confident it will pass, despite only narrowly winning a leadership ballot last year and reports of internal discontent.
Ms Deeming, a former teacher and City of Melton councillor, will have an opportunity to plead her case to partyroom colleagues.
She was elected to the Victorian parliament last year as a member for Western Metropolitan, replacing veteran MP Bernie Finn after he was expelled over his controversial views on abortion.
Meanwhile, Ms Keen-Minshull’s plans are in doubt after New Zealand said it would review her right to travel there. Ms Keen Minshull, who also uses the name Posie Parker, has events planned in Auckland and Wellington for her Let Women Speak tour this weekend.
Immigration NZ general manager Richard Owen said the agency was “reviewing whether in the light of the events at the weekend Ms Keen-Minshull is still able to travel to New Zealand on the basis of the [travel waiver] that she holds without obtaining a visa first”.
“Immigration New Zealand can confirm that Ms Keen-Minshull is the holder of a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA),” Mr Owen said.
The NZeTA and visitor-waiver visa include character requirements. According to the Immigration NZ website, someone won’t meet the requirements if “we have reason to believe you may be a risk to New Zealand’s security, public order or public interest”.
Also on Monday, the Victorian government said it would fast-track legislation to outlaw the Nazi salute.
Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said the government would expand legislation banning the Nazi swastika to include the salute, after Saturday’s ugly scenes.
-with AAP
