The Victorian opposition leader, John Pesutto, says Liberal MP Moira Deeming’s suspension is “not off to a good start” after she appeared to contradict his claims she made “important concessions” to avoid party room expulsion.
A vote to expel Deeming from the parliamentary Liberal party was abandoned during a marathon two-hour meeting on Monday, with MPs unanimously agreeing to a compromise deal that instead imposed a nine-month suspension on the upper house MP. She also lost the position of upper-house whip, which garners a $20,000 pay rise.
