Updated July 3, 2026 — 2:36pm,first published July 2, 2026 — 9:58pmMoira Deeming will remain a Liberal candidate for this year’s state election – for now – after the party agreed to delay by two weeks moves to disendorse her.Lawyers for Liberal state president Brian Loughnane provided an undertaking to the Supreme Court on Friday that the party’s state executive would wait until the outcome of Deeming’s legal challenge before taking any further steps.A decision to disendorse a candidate requires the support of 75 per cent of executive members.Luis Enrique Ascui“[My clients] undertake not to take any step to disendorse the plaintiff until the hearing determination of this proceeding,” Loughnane’s counsel Marcus Clarke KC told the court.Deeming’s legal challenge has been set down for a one-day trial on 17 July.A meeting of the state executive had been called for 6.30pm on Friday to determine Deeming’s candidacy after she refused to apologise for making an unsubstantiated assault allegation against former party leader Matthew Guy.During a brief hearing in the Supreme Court on Friday morning, counsel for Deeming Ganesh Jegatheesan flagged that his client would argue that if the party wanted to disendorse her, it must provide her natural justice.The party will argue it has already done so, with Deeming having been invited to address tonight’s meeting to put her case.There are 18 members of the state executive. A decision to disendorse a candidate requires the support of 75 per cent of executive members.Jegatheesan indicated that Deeming’s health may also be an issue in the case.Deeming’s solicitor Tim Houweling earlier this week issued a statement saying Deeming was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder caused by previous sexual abuse.Matthew Guy demanded Moira Deeming apologise for making the assault allegation against him.Simon SchluterJustice Kerri Judd said the substantial matters in the case could be dealt with quickly through an expedited hearing.“I am not here to review the decision of Victoria Police to not charge Mr Guy,” the judge said.The matter was adjourned until 1pm. When the parties returned to court, they announced an agreement had been reached which meant an injunction was no longer required.If Deeming is disendorsed by the Liberal Party, it will likely end her short, combustive political career.Deeming has been mooted as a possible One Nation candidate but party founder Pauline Hanson, speaking on Radio 3AW on Thursday, said she was not welcome in her ranks.“No, don’t want her,” Hanson said flatly.“I want a person with integrity and honesty and I don’t see that. That’s why I would not offer her a position with One Nation.”Loughnane took charge of the Victorian branch in May and this week flew back to Melbourne from Europe to deal with his party’s most destructive MP.Loughnane’s wife, Sky News broadcaster and Tony Abbott’s former chief of staff Peta Credlin, was previously a vocal supporter of Deeming. During Deeming’s dispute with then party leader John Pesutto, Credlin encouraged Deeming to sue for defamation.This time, Deeming is without the support of Credlin, Abbott and other prominent conservative figures she previously considered ideological allies.Party figures and MPs across moderate and conservative factions have developed a broad consensus in recent days that, with a winnable state election looming, they need to cut ties with Deeming.Deeming’s allegation against Guy – that he assaulted her by putting her in a violent headlock during a public dinner on May 23, was dismissed by Victoria Police after CCTV footage of the incident showed Guy merely putting a hand on her shoulder.Deeming through her lawyer said she had nothing to apologise for and that she misunderstood the technical meaning of a headlock.Deeming, a first-term MP with strongly gender-critical views, was in 2023 expelled from the Liberal Party room for bringing the party into disrepute by pursuing Pesutto for defamation.She was readmitted after she won her case and Pesutto lost the leadership.Their dispute began over Deeming’s decision to speak at a Let Women Speak rally on the steps of parliament gate-crashed by neo-Nazis.The day after the rally, Pesutto’s leadership team met in the leader’s office to decide what to do about Deeming.One of their concerns, which has turned out to be prophetic, was that if nothing were done, Deeming would “blow up” the party months before the 2026 election.Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.Chip Le Grand leads our state politics reporting team. He previously served as the paper’s chief reporter and is a journalist of 30 years’ experience.Connect via email.From our partners