Deeming to remain on crossbench after Liberal vote on return to party fails
Benita Kolovos
Moira Deeming will remain on the crossbench after a bid to return her to the Liberal party room has failed.
The failed motion to reinstate Deeming had been put forward by Liberal MPs Chris Crewther, Renee Heath, Joe McCracken, Richard Riordan and Bill Tilley, who had argued she had been unfairly expelled in 2023.
Deeming had been expelled from the party room in 2023 after she attended a rally that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.
A federal court judge last week found Pesutto defamed Deeming by falsely implying in comments he made after the rally that she knowingly associated and sympathised with neo-Nazis and ordered he pay her $300,000 in damages.
Key events
Bali Nine reunited with family in time for Christmas
As we flagged earlier, five members of the Bali Nine have been released from custody to spend Christmas with their families for the first time in 20 years.
AAP reports that Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen and Michael Czugaj – all now aged in their late 30s or 40s – spent two decades locked in Bali’s Kerobokan Prison after being found guilty of attempting to traffic heroin.
After spending four days in the Howard Springs federal accommodation facility near Darwin, the men returned to their respective homes yesterday where they will continue reintegrating with Australian society.
Benita Kolovos
Pesutto drew casting vote in Deeming party room decision
Upper house MP Renee Heath just confirmed it was a draw, with 14 Liberals supporting Deeming’s return and 14 opposing. She described the result as “disappointing”.
The draw meant opposition leader John Pesutto drew a casting vote.
Deeming to remain on crossbench after Liberal vote on return to party fails
Benita Kolovos
Moira Deeming will remain on the crossbench after a bid to return her to the Liberal party room has failed.
The failed motion to reinstate Deeming had been put forward by Liberal MPs Chris Crewther, Renee Heath, Joe McCracken, Richard Riordan and Bill Tilley, who had argued she had been unfairly expelled in 2023.
Deeming had been expelled from the party room in 2023 after she attended a rally that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.
A federal court judge last week found Pesutto defamed Deeming by falsely implying in comments he made after the rally that she knowingly associated and sympathised with neo-Nazis and ordered he pay her $300,000 in damages.
Benita Kolovos
Victorian Liberal party room meeting ongoing
We’re still waiting outside the Victorian Liberal party room, where MPs are meeting to discuss returning Moira Deeming.
The meeting is going longer than a few MPs expected, though one has raised the point all five petitioners who called the meeting will want to speak to their motion, as will opposition leader John Pesutto and others.
We’ll have an outcome for you as soon as we hear.
Free lesson to help young Victorian drivers avoid serious crashes
Thousands of Victorian teenagers will be offered a free driving lesson in a bid to reduce major and fatal crashes. As AAP reports, parents can also participate in the hour-long session, Victorian roads minister Melissa Horne said in announcing the scheme today.
The in-car lessons will be delivered by an accredited driving instructor to teach road safety skills, and help supervising drivers support youngsters to complete their required 120 hours. The initiative is expected to support about 15,000 families in the state.
Victorian L-platers aged 16 to 19 will be eligible to participate if they have practised for 10 to 30 hours and have a licensed supervising driver to attend the lesson.
Young drivers are almost four times more likely to be involved in a fatal or serious-injury crash than more experienced drivers.
Victorian learners need to complete 120 hours of practice to get a probationary licence, which has helped reduce fatal and serious crashes among young drivers by more than 40% since its introduction in 2007.
Training and accreditation for driving instructors to deliver this program will also be free.
Qantas moves to avoid Christmas disruption from industrial action
Qantas says industrial action by maintenance engineers will not cause chaos for the airline’s flights in the lead-up to Christmas.
As AAP reports, the airline says it has put contingencies in place today for industrial action, and similar action from engineers earlier in December had no impact on customers.
But unplanned maintenance issues, adverse weather or other events could still impact operations. A spokesperson said:
Our teams are working hard to ensure that this industrial action has minimal impact on customers’ holiday plans and we have put a number of contingencies in place and extra resourcing on the ground to ensure our customers get away as planned.
The airline said about 160 line maintenance engineers were rostered to work during today’s industrial action. It said additional groups taking action were part of long-term maintenance teams that did not perform day-of-operation engineering support.
Industrial action has taken place since late September as part of ongoing negotiations but Qantas says it has managed the impact to avoid delays or cancellations for customers.
Burke pays tribute to Leunig
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has paid tribute to cartoonist Michael Leunig, who has died aged 79. In a post to X, Burke wrote:
For decades, Michael Leunig’s cartoons have illuminated the complexities of our world with humour, humanity, and truth. Through his simple yet profound, Leunig reminded us to find joy in life’s absurdities and to never lose sight of compassion and kindness.
His legacy will continue to inspire generations. May he rest in peace.
Penny Wong shares images from visit to Ukrainian capital
Overnight, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, shared some images from her visit to Kyiv in Ukraine, thanking prime minister Denys Shmyhal and foreign minister Andrii Sybiha for the warm welcome.
A privilege to visit Kyiv to express Australia’s unwavering solidarity with the people of Ukraine and announce further support for the fight against Russia’s brutal, illegal war.
Thank you to Prime Minister Shmyhal and Foreign Minister Sybiha for welcoming me so warmly. pic.twitter.com/DfhlUnsp2u
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) December 19, 2024
Wong wrote in a post to X:
We want Ukrainians to be able to live in peace and rebuild their lives and homeland … The Albanese government has always said we would reopen Australia’s embassy in Kyiv when it’s safe to do so. I was pleased during my visit to Ukraine to announce our embassy is reopening …
Russia’s cooperation with North Korea demonstrates again how our region’s security is interconnected with Europe’s. That’s why we stand with Ukraine. Ukraine must end this war on its own terms.
Watch and act alert for bushfire in Victoria
A watch and act alert has been issued for a bushfire near Woodland Close and The Gurdies in Victoria, which is not yet under control. VicEmergency said firefighters have been able to slow the spread of fire for now, but the situation can change at any time.
Meanwhile, VicEmergency said a bushfire in the Southern Grampians continues to burn and has grown to more than 7,600 hectares:
Very little rain in the forecast and the fire’s difficult location means it could burn for weeks.
Total fire ban for Mallee and Wimmera districts
A total fire ban has been declared for the Mallee and Wimmera districts in Victoria today, amid high fire danger.
Mildura is forecast to reach a top of 38C today, and Ouyen 39C. Horsham is forecast to reach a top of 37C.
Benita Kolovos
Victorian Liberal MP says it’s not his intention for spill against Pesutto
Benambra MP Bill Tiley, another signatory to the motion, won’t say if he’s got the numbers to support it:
It’s like a poker game, we’ll hold our cards close to our chest, but there’s only one question this morning, and that’s about readmitting Moira Deeming to the parliamentary party.
Asked if there would be a spill against John Pesutto, Tiley said that was not his intention.
Benita Kolovos
More from the Victorian Liberals ahead of Deeming vote
Bev McArthur, a key member of the Victorian Liberals conservative grouping, is a supporter of Moira Deeming. She wrote to the party room last night urging them to support the motion and rubbished the argument some MPs have been that Deeming has voted with Labor more often than the Coalition.
McArthur said:
People have been accusing her of being a right wing religious nutter. Now it seems they’re accusing her of being a left wing advocate. We’ve actually voted more with Labor and the Greens than she has.
Benita Kolovos
Victorian Libs indicate how they’ll vote on Deeming motion
Continuing from our last post: Berwick MP Brad Battin, considered a possible challenger to John Pesutto’s leadership, said he will vote in support of the motion.
As will Rowville MP Kim Wells.
One of the petitioners, Mornington MP Chris Crewther, said it’s a matter of “integrity”:
It’s about moving forward. I think if we don’t resolve this before Christmas, it will continue to be a distraction. We need to be focusing for the next two years on targeting Labor, keeping them accountable, not talking about ourselves. So this needs to be resolved and resolved today.
Victorian Liberal MPs gathering for Deeming vote
Benita Kolovos
Victorian Liberal MPs are gathering at parliament this morning to vote on a motion to bring Moira Deeming back into the party room.
On Monday night, Liberal MPs Chris Crewther, Renee Heath, Joe McCracken, Richard Riordan and Bill Tilley revealed they had signed a petition to hold a special party room meeting to reinstate Deeming. Deeming had been expelled from the party room in 2023 after she attended a rally that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.
A federal court judge last week found Pesutto defamed Deeming by falsely implying in comments he made after the rally that she knowingly associated and sympathised with neo-Nazis and ordered he pay her $300,000 in damages. After the judgement, Deeming said it was her expectation to be let back into the party room.
Arriving first at parliament this morning was David Hodgett, who said while he supported Deeming’s return the petitioners had gone about it the wrong way. He said:
I don’t think they’ve gone about it the right way. I don’t think we should be here on Friday morning dealing with external Liberal Party matters when we should have spent the week prosecuting Tim Pallas’ record as treasurer and other issues affecting the state. And I said there’s probably a pathway for Moira back but they’ve gone about it completely the wrong way.
Ley says Bowen should ‘disown’ video criticising Coalition nuclear plan
Deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley also spoke with Sunrise, alongside Chris Bowen, and said the climate change minister should “disown” the video.
She labelled it “one of the most disgraceful things I have seen in 23 years of politics”, and said:
I think Chris Bowen needs to disown this, this morning … Are we saying that nuclear medicine is not safe? Are we saying that the submariners that the partnership in Aukus that Labor has signed up to, is that going to put our submariners at risk? Are you going to be at risk if you live near a base where these submarines will be in? It is so important that the energy minister of this country disowns this campaign right now.
