Category Archives: Victorian politics

Moira Deeming drops legal case against Victorian Liberal party and makes last-ditch bid to avoid disendorsement

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State MP abandons supreme court challenge, saying her party ‘can now decide whether to pursue mediation or reconvene to disendorse me’

Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming has dropped legal action against her own party as she seeks to make a last-ditch appeal to avoid being disendorsed before the state election.

Deeming launched an 11th-hour supreme court challenge against the Victorian Liberal party president, Brian Loughnane, on 3 July after she made an assault allegation against former leader Matthew Guy and subsequently rejected calls to apologise after Victoria police determined “there was no offence detected”.

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David Penman wasn’t happy with his local Victorian council. So, he privately prosecuted five councillors

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Legal action by the Daylesford small business owner has forced councillors to stand down – leaving only two able to serve

David Penman wasn’t happy.

The Daylesford small business owner didn’t like the work of his local council. So, using little-known laws that force elected officials to stand down, he essentially stopped it from making any big decisions.

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Jacinta Allan admits criminals infiltrated Big Build but rejects calls for royal commission

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Premier apologised over organised crime in some of Victoria’s largest construction projects, in op-ed that claimed a royal commission would not solve the issue

Jacinta Allan has admitted that criminals have infiltrated some of Victoria’s largest construction projects – but has again rejected growing calls for a royal commission into alleged corruption involving unions and labour hire companies.

In an opinion piece published in the Age on Thursday night, the premier wrote that “we now know that criminals operated on some of Victoria’s construction sites” during projects dubbed by the Labor government as the Big Build.

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Moira Deeming wins temporary reprieve as Victorian Liberal party postpones decision on her future

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State opposition tells court it will not take any steps to disendorse MP while legal proceedings under way

A Victorian Liberal MP who sued her party to stave off a meeting that will determine her political future has been handed a temporary lifeline.

Moira Deeming launched an eleventh-hour supreme court challenge against the Victorian Liberal party president, Brian Loughnane, and the party on Friday morning, seeking a temporary injunction to stop the meeting.

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Victorian premier accused of ‘nonsense’ for blaming inflation amid gangland allegations over cost blowouts

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Jacinta Allan resists calls for royal commission into state’s $100bn Big Build infrastructure project as pressure mounts following new reports

An integrity expert says Jacinta Allan blaming “inflationary pressures” rather than corruption for cost blowouts on the state’s $100bn Big Build is “nonsense”, as the Victorian premier resists growing calls for a royal commission.

Allan on Monday declared that “inflationary pressures on projects is not corruption” after Nine newspapers and 60 Minutes reported allegations that money from the state’s Big Build infrastructure projects was being paid to gangland figures and that the state government was warned about cost blowouts due to Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) demands.

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‘No offence detected’: Victoria police close investigation into Moira Deeming allegation of assault by Matthew Guy

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Guy accuses Deeming of making ‘ridiculous and unsubstantiated’ claims as state Liberal party grapples with fallout

Police have concluded their investigation into Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming’s allegation that her colleague Matthew Guy assaulted her, making the finding “no offence detected”.

Deeming had reported to police on 16 June that Guy, the opposition’s public transport spokesperson, had assaulted her at a Macedonian community event in Sunshine on 23 May.

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Victorian Liberal MP Matthew Guy denies accusation he assaulted Moira Deeming in incident allegedly captured by CCTV

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Police confirm they are investigating as sources close to Guy say he vehemently denies the allegations and is considering legal action

The Victorian Liberal party is in turmoil just five months out from the state election after MP Moira Deeming accused colleague Matthew Guy of assaulting her at a community event.

Sources close to Guy, the opposition’s public transport spokesperson, said he vehemently denies the allegation, which is being investigated by police, and is considering a defamation legal action against Deeming.

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Jacinta Allan says Pauline Hanson ‘chooses to barrack for bullies’ over ‘ditch the witch’ billboard

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Victorian premier says she will always call out ‘misogynist’ views after One Nation leader says ‘if the shoe fits’

Jacinta Allan has dismissed leadership speculation and says she will continue to call out “sexist, misogynist, hateful” commentary directed at her, despite the One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s advice to “suck it up, sweetheart”.

On Sunday, the Victorian premier criticised a truck-mounted billboard, which has been travelling around Melbourne for several weeks, featuring AI-generated images of her wearing a black pointed hat alongside the phrase “ditch the witch”.

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Regrettable references and claims of ‘rigged’ election laws: why this week has reignited Jacinta Allan spill rumours

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Just months from the Victorian election, the premier’s performance has left some MPs wondering if it’s too late for Labor to change leaders

Jacinta Allan faced three major tests this week. The way she handled them has left some of her colleagues speculating about a possible leadership change just months out from the Victorian election.

The first came on Monday, as the premier responded to a parliamentary inquiry that six months ago recommended sweeping reforms to Victoria’s integrity laws.

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Jacinta Allan launches state-sponsored apprenticeships at Victoria’s Labor conference ahead of election

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The premier is offering 2,000 apprenticeships at the revived State Electricity Commission as part of a pre-election push

Jacinta Allan has used Labor’s final state conference before the election to announce a plan for a government-owned electricity body to hire apprentices to address significant workforce shortages and job insecurity.

The Victorian premier announced the plan in a speech that drew on her father’s experience as a linesman at the State Electricity Commission (SEC), which was revived by Daniel Andrews in 2023 after being privatised by former premier Jeff Kennett in the 1990s.

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Victorian politics still exposed to ‘dark money’ and foreign donations as MPs struggle to agree on urgent reforms

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Exclusive: state is now without caps on political donations or disclosure requirements, months out from November election

“Unlimited dark money” will keep flooding into Victorian politics after Labor failed to reach agreement with the Liberals or the Greens about donation reforms the Allan government vowed to fast-track through parliament.

Victoria is now without caps on political donations or disclosure requirements, months out from the November election after the high court struck down the state’s donation laws last month.

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Muslim Votes Matter says anonymous bid to create political party under same name an attempt to ‘mislead’ voters

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Exclusive: Push to register unaffiliated party with identical name to grassroots group follows Avi Yemini’s plan to use ‘Free Palestine party’ to funnel votes to One Nation

Muslim Votes Matter (MVM) has complained to the Victorian Electoral Commission over an anonymous bid to register a political party under the same name ahead of the state election, accusing it of deliberately misleading voters.

MVM was established before the 2025 federal election as a grassroots advocacy and lobbying movement, responding to concerns about the lack of political representation for Muslim and minority groups in Australia.

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Australia news live: dozens paddle out in Sydney and Newcastle in solidarity with Gaza Flotilla; PM commits another $1.8bn to urgent care clinics

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Parents of Australian who was detained by IDF call for stronger government response. Follow updates live

Canavan defends Coalition decision to preference One Nation ahead of independent in Farrer: ‘Socialists and communists always go last’

Matt Canavan said he understood why voters in Farrer, set for a byelection next Saturday, were disillusioned with the federal opposition.

I‘ve been down there for 20 days, 15 nights – and 10 of those I’ve been in a swag – over the past month.

I’m doing everything I can to fight for them. I’d love to fight for that great part of our country again, it’s a wonderful part of our nation where we pioneered the use of irrigation and dams. It still produces 40% of our food, 60% of our fruit.

Under my leadership, [in] my view, socialists and communists always go last.

I think we need to really see how the overseas conflict evolves, how prices evolve for oil. But I think, you know, it is doing what it was intended to do. It’s not a silver bullet, but it is providing material support for people. And as I said, it’s providing support for people who are really doing it tough when they can’t shift away from using petrol.

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Liberals claim victory in Nepean byelection ahead of state poll

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Anthony Marsh appears to be in commanding position in significant boost to opposition leader Jess Wilson

The Liberals have claimed victory in a key Victorian byelection seen as a preview of what to expect when the rest of the state hits the polls in November.

As counting continued in the Mornington peninsula seat of Nepean, the Liberal candidate, Anthony Marsh, appeared to be in a commanding position in a significant boost to opposition leader Jess Wilson.

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Jacinta Allan wants voters to see Victoria’s 12-year-old Labor government as ‘new and united’. Can she cling to power?

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With a reshuffled cabinet, the premier is hoping to quell leadership rumblings as her party seeks an unprecedented fourth term

As the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, stood alongside the fresh faces in her reshuffled cabinet on Wednesday, she attempted to send her increasingly jaded electorate a blunt message: despite its 12 years in power, her government is – apparently – new.

In her opening four-minute preamble to reporters, Allan - whose Labor government will in November seek an unprecedented fourth term - repeated the word 17 times. In one sentence alone, she referred to her “new cabinet”, “new portfolios”, “new solutions” and “new areas that are going to drive this government forward”.

Benita Kolovos is Guardian Australia’s Victorian state correspondent

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Moira Deeming to secure top spot on Victorian Liberal ticket

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Reversal of fortune comes just one week after she was dumped in favour of Dinesh Gourisetty, who then withdrew his nomination

Moira Deeming will secure a top spot on the Victorian Liberal party’s upper house ticket unopposed – less than a week after members voted to dump her – after the withdrawal of candidates from a re-run ballot.

Deeming was on Sunday ousted from the number one spot for the western metropolitan region by Dinesh Gourisetty.

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One Nation renews defection offer to ‘courageous’ Moira Deeming after Victorian Liberal MP dumped from election ticket

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Moderate-backed Dinesh Gourisetty won nomination for upper house seat

Moira Deeming has lost her spot on the ballot for the Victorian Liberal party at the November state election, after a successful challenge by a moderate-backed candidate.

Liberal members gathered at party headquarters in Melbourne’s CBD on Sunday for the western metropolitan region convention, where Deeming was defeated by Dinesh Gourisetty, a prominent figure in Melbourne’s fast-growing Indian community.

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Long-promised animal cruelty prevention laws quietly shelved by Victorian government

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Exclusive: Labor bill recognising all animals as sentient and raising care requirements won’t be introduced before state election

A bulldog trapped on a balcony, forced to live among its own faeces. A corgi kept in similarly squalid conditions, surrendered by its owner after community outrage. A Maltese shih tzu beaten with a metal pole – its attacker spared jail.

These are the kinds of animal cruelty cases the Victorian government promised to target with new laws almost a decade ago. But Guardian Australia can reveal those reforms have been shelved indefinitely.

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Teachers in Victoria strike for first time in 13 years, with classes cancelled at about 500 public schools

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Australian Education Union members to rally outside state parliament in dispute over pay and conditions

Classes have been halted across Victoria as thousands of striking public school teachers, principals and education support staff prepare to descend on state parliament for a rally over pay and conditions.

According to the Australian Education Union’s Victorian president, Justin Mullaly, up to 500 schools would either be closed or “significantly affected” as a result of the first strike in the state’s public school system in more than 13 years.

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Let the games begin: Victorian Liberals fail at sport but surprise with teamwork in viral video

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Jess Wilson’s party has made a splash on social media but will they work together in the state election race?

Jess Wilson doing bombs into a swimming pool. Brad Battin in a muscle shirt curling 20kg, tattoos on show. John Pesutto throwing a discus, clad in blue jeans. Matthew Guy running, clutching a pink baton.

The current Victorian Liberal leader and three of her predecessors feature in a social media video to mark what would have been the opening ceremony of the regional Commonwealth Games on Tuesday – if the state government hadn’t cancelled them.

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