The Public Ledger

Legislative Council · Western Metropolitan Region

Moira Deeming

Last verified 30 Sept 2026

Family FirstIncumbent · seeking re-election
Candidate photo — pending
Seat context — Western Metropolitan Region›
Illustration pending

Western Metropolitan elects 5 MLCs and comprises 11 Legislative Assembly districts across Melbourne's west — Footscray, Kororoit, Laverton, Niddrie, Point Cook, St Albans, Sunbury, Sydenham, Tarneit, Werribee and Williamstown. In 2022, Labor won 2 of 5 seats (Lizzie Blandthorn and Ingrid Stitt), the Liberals won 2 (Moira Deeming and Trung Luu) and Legalise Cannabis won 1 (David Ettershank). Deeming, elected as a Liberal, was removed as the party's 2026 candidate in July and is now Family First's lead candidate for the region.

Identity & ballot position§ 01
House
Legislative Council
Seat
Western Metropolitan Region
Incumbent
Yes — since 26 Nov 2022 MLC for Western Metropolitan Region since the 2022 election, when she was elected second on the Liberal ticket. VVerified — PARL-DEEMING, WP-WMREGIONParliament of Victoria, "Moira Deeming — member profile"View sourceWikipedia, "Western Metropolitan Region (2022 result)"View source Parliament's member page now lists her party as Family First Victoria; the ABC describes her as a crossbench MP. VVerified — PARL-DEEMING, ABC-DEEMING-SEP26Parliament of Victoria, "Moira Deeming — member profile"View sourceABC News, "Former Liberal MP Moira Deeming to run as Family First candidate in Victorian election" (10 Sept 2026)View source The ABC reported she was removed as the Liberal candidate in July 2026 after refusing to apologise to Matthew Guy over an assault accusation; Victoria Police said no offence was detected after reviewing CCTV. RReported — ABC-DEEMING-SEP26ABC News, "Former Liberal MP Moira Deeming to run as Family First candidate in Victorian election" (10 Sept 2026)View source
Party
Family First
Ballot position
Not yet assigned
Group ticket order
Family First's national director announced on 10 September 2026 that the party's Federal Executive endorsed her as its lead candidate for the Western Metropolitan Region. SSelf-stated — FF-DEEMING-RELEASEFamily First Party Australia, "Moira Deeming joins Family First as Western Metro lead candidate (media release)" (10 Sept 2026)View source The ABC reported she was named as Family First's candidate for the Western Metropolitan Region. RReported — ABC-DEEMING-SEP26ABC News, "Former Liberal MP Moira Deeming to run as Family First candidate in Victorian election" (10 Sept 2026)View source
§ 02

Background

Occupation / profession
Worked as a high school teacher for over a decade, teaching English, literature, legal studies, philosophy, science and psychology. VVerified — PARL-DEEMINGParliament of Victoria, "Moira Deeming — member profile"View source
Prior public roles
Was a City of Melton councillor from 2020 to 2022. VVerified — PARL-DEEMING, WP-MDParliament of Victoria, "Moira Deeming — member profile"View sourceWikipedia, "Moira Deeming"View source
Local ties
Her electorate office is at Lake Street, Caroline Springs. VVerified — PARL-DEEMINGParliament of Victoria, "Moira Deeming — member profile"View source
Education
Attended St Francis Xavier College, holds a Bachelor of International Relations from La Trobe University and a Postgraduate Diploma of Education from the University of Melbourne. RReported — WP-MDWikipedia, "Moira Deeming"View source
§ 03

Platform

Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.

Stated top campaign priorities

Individual rights and responsibilities balanced equally in law, and government serving individuals and families rather than special interests.

VVerified — PARL-DEEMINGParliament of Victoria, "Moira Deeming — member profile"View source

What Victorians say matters most

5 poll-led issues

Cost of living and crime have ranked 1st or 2nd in every Victorian poll since mid‑2025, with debt and housing close behind — see schema §3 for the polling this grouping is based on (DemosAU, Ipsos Issues Monitor, Roy Morgan). The 0-10 'priorityScore' on each candidate's issue entries is NOT a measure of true importance or an independent ranking of what a candidate actually cares about. It reflects how much detail and specificity exists in what that candidate has actually said publicly on that issue -- a named policy mechanism and a verified voting record score higher than a one-line stated priority, regardless of the issue's real-world weight. Render this distinction in the UI wherever the score appears; do not label it just 'Priority' without the qualifier.

Cost of living

iWhat this coversPosition on everyday household costs — groceries, utilities, insurance, transport.
Candidate’s priority0 / 10

Not detailed in sources reviewed.

Crime and community safety

iWhat this coversPosition on crime rates, policing and community safety, including youth crime and bail law.
Candidate’s priority3 / 10

Lists justice and community protection among her interests.

VVerified — PARL-DEEMINGParliament of Victoria, "Moira Deeming — member profile"View source

Housing affordability and supply

iWhat this coversPosition on home ownership costs, rental affordability, and housing supply/planning.
Candidate’s priority0 / 10

Not detailed in sources reviewed.

State government debt and fiscal management

iWhat this coversPosition on debt levels and what they mean for future taxes and service funding.
Candidate’s priority2 / 10

Wants government to serve individuals and families rather than special interests.

VVerified — PARL-DEEMINGParliament of Victoria, "Moira Deeming — member profile"View source

Infrastructure and public transport delivery

iWhat this coversPosition on congestion, commute reliability, and cost/timeline overruns on major projects.
Candidate’s priority0 / 10

Not detailed in sources reviewed.

Also on the record

6 substance issues

These don't top “biggest issue” polling, but carry real 2026 policy weight and genuine differences between parties.

Education and training

iWhat this coversPosition on school funding and infrastructure, curriculum and teaching quality, university funding and research, and TAFE/VET.
Candidate’s priority3 / 10

Drew on a decade as a teacher; lists clear, fair legislation and opposition to authoritarian governance among her interests.

VVerified — PARL-DEEMINGParliament of Victoria, "Moira Deeming — member profile"View source

Health and healthcare access

iWhat this coversPosition on hospital and clinic funding, GP/specialist access and wait times, and ambulance performance including ramping.
Candidate’s priority0 / 10

Not detailed in sources reviewed.

Urban planning and housing density

iWhat this coversPosition on zoning and density, heritage and consultation processes, urban sprawl versus infill, and access to parks and green space.
Candidate’s priority0 / 10

Not detailed in sources reviewed.

Climate and energy transition

iWhat this coversPosition on renewable energy targets, offshore wind delivery, transmission infrastructure, and the reinstated State Electricity Commission.
Candidate’s priority0 / 10

Not detailed in sources reviewed.

Treaty and First Nations affairs

iWhat this coversPosition on implementing the Statewide Treaty and the new Gellung Warl representative body, and on future local treaties.
Candidate’s priority0 / 10

Not detailed in sources reviewed.

Regional and rural Victoria

iWhat this coversPosition on water security, the native-forest-logging transition, road and service funding, and population decline in country towns.
Candidate’s priority0 / 10

Not detailed in sources reviewed.

Local & party context

2 fields

Not scored the way the eleven issues above are — these are fixed facts about the seat and the party, not positions with more or less emphasis behind them.

Seat-specific issues
Her profile names no region-specific project.
Party platform alignment

Wikipedia records she changed party several times: Liberal in 2022-2023, independent Liberal in 2023-2024, Liberal again in 2024-2026, and Family First from 10 September 2026. RReported — WP-MDWikipedia, "Moira Deeming"View source

Family First announced her as its lead Western Metropolitan candidate on 10 September 2026. SSelf-stated — FF-DEEMING-RELEASEFamily First Party Australia, "Moira Deeming joins Family First as Western Metro lead candidate (media release)" (10 Sept 2026)View source

Family First's 2026 policy positions on the economy, housing, health and transport were not retrieved, so those issues are left empty.

V VerifiedS Self-statedR Reported— hover or tap any mark for what it means
§ 04

Track record & prior candidacies

Terms served
Member of the Legislative Council for Western Metropolitan Region since 26 November 2022. VVerified — PARL-DEEMINGParliament of Victoria, "Moira Deeming — member profile"View source
Portfolios held
No portfolio role is listed on her parliamentary profile.
Notable votes, bills, committee work

Wikipedia records that she co-organised a March 2023 rally at which neo-Nazi groups performed Nazi salutes, and that she was then suspended for nine months and later expelled from the Liberal parliamentary party. RReported — WP-MDWikipedia, "Moira Deeming"View source

She sued Opposition Leader John Pesutto for defamation; in December 2024 the Federal Court ruled in her favour and ordered $300,000 in damages, and she rejoined the party room on 27 December 2024. RReported — WP-MDWikipedia, "Moira Deeming"View source

The Liberals revoked her endorsement on 17 July 2026 and she left the party on 28 July 2026, after assault allegations by Matthew Guy that police closed without charges. RReported — WP-MDWikipedia, "Moira Deeming"View source

Previous candidacies
Was endorsed as a Liberal candidate on 23 July 2022, replacing Bernie Finn, and was elected second on the Liberal ticket. RReported — WP-MD, WP-WMREGIONWikipedia, "Moira Deeming"View sourceWikipedia, "Western Metropolitan Region (2022 result)"View source
§ 05–08

Campaign, money & endorsements

Campaign logistics

Social
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Contact
See Parliament of Victoria member listing (parliamentary email moira.deeming@parliament.vic.gov.au; phone (03) 8363 0288, both listed on her Parliament profile).
How-to-vote card
Not yet published

Endorsements & Donations

Organisational
None reported in sources reviewed.
Individual
None reported in sources reviewed.
VEC disclosure
Not yet available.
Public funding

Per the Victorian Electoral Commission's funding guidance (vec.vic.gov.au, accessed 2026-09-29 via search snippets of its independent-candidate and registered-party funding pages), a candidate is eligible for public election funding if they receive at least 4% of first-preference votes in their contest, or are elected. Funding is reimbursed against an audited statement of campaign expenditure, and advance funding must be repaid in full if the threshold is missed.

As a sitting MLC elected in 2022, Deeming met the "elected" limb of the test for that contest, so the Liberal campaign she was part of qualified for public funding; her 2026 Family First campaign is a new contest.

Dataset housekeeping

Nomination status
Expected — Family First announced her on 10 September 2026 as its lead candidate for Western Metropolitan, corroborated by the ABC the same day and by her Parliament of Victoria profile, which now lists her party as Family First Victoria. Not yet a lodged VEC nomination. She was previously tracked on the roll only as a withdrawn Liberal (disendorsed July 2026); this Pass 1 file replaces that gap and updates her party. VEC nomination cannot be lodged until nominations open 4 November 2026.
Last verified
30 Sept 2026
Sources
See the Source register below — every V/S/R mark on this page names its specific source on hover.

Source register

FF-DEEMING-2026
Family First Party Australia, “Moira Deeming for Western Metropolitan” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 24 Sept 2026
FF-DEEMING-RELEASE
Family First Party Australia, “Moira Deeming joins Family First as Western Metro lead candidate (media release)” (10 Sept 2026) — Party's own material — View source · accessed 24 Sept 2026
ABC-DEEMING-SEP26
ABC News, “Former Liberal MP Moira Deeming to run as Family First candidate in Victorian election” (10 Sept 2026) — National broadcaster news — View source · accessed 24 Sept 2026
PARL-DEEMING
Parliament of Victoria, “Moira Deeming — member profile” — Official parliamentary record — View source · accessed 24 Sept 2026
WP-WMREGION
Wikipedia, “Western Metropolitan Region (2022 result)” — Encyclopedia (crowdsourced) — View source · accessed 24 Sept 2026
FF-VIC2026
Family First Party Australia, “Victorian Election (2026 candidates)” — Party's own material — View source · accessed 24 Sept 2026
WP-MD
Wikipedia, “Moira Deeming” — Encyclopedia (crowdsourced) — View source · accessed 30 Sept 2026