Victorian Liberal MP Matthew Guy says he deserves an apology from his party colleague Moira Deeming, after police closed an investigation into allegations he assaulted her at a community event.
Mr Guy, a former leader of the party, addressed the media outside parliament on Friday.
He vehemently denied the allegation and is considering legal advice to pursue defamation action against his party room colleague.
“Moira Deeming owes me a public apology,” he said.
“I’m owed an apology by the premier and attorney-general.
Former state Liberal leader Matthew Guy has thanked his Coalition colleagues for their “strong support”. (AAP: Con Chronis)
“They can come to me the honourable and easy way, or a harder way,” Mr Guy said.
“My wife, my sons, my parents, my brother, my cousins, my family who share my name, deserve those apologies as well.”
Video obtained by the ABC appeared to show Mr Guy placing his arm on Mrs Deeming’s back to speak with her at the crowded Macedonian community event in Sunshine on May 23.
Mrs Deeming alleged he had put her in a headlock.
Moira Deeming and Matthew Guy both attended a community event in Melbourne’s west last month. (Facebook: Matthew Guy)
She first made the complaint to Opposition Leader Jess Wilson’s office before going to police on June 16.
Late on Thursday night, Victoria Police confirmed it had concluded its investigation and that there was “no offence detected”.
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The press conference ends
Mr Guy’s solicitor has finished her statement and both have now left the media conference without taking questions from reporters.
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“Following a thorough investigation, it has been determined there was no offence detected,” a spokeswoman said.
At the press conference on Friday, Mr Guy said: “There is no ambiguity. I did not do what’s alleged.
“The CCTV proves this, it did from the start, and Victoria Police agree.”
Mr Guy thanked his Coalition colleagues for their “strong support”.
“I am deeply appreciative of my Liberal and National colleagues. They are good people — they’d be a good government,” he said.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush told 774 ABC Melbourne the investigators relied on the security footage to draw their conclusion.
“I think it’s safe to say it’s been explored, the investigation is complete, parties have been advised and we’re moving on,” he said.
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Leader Jess Wilson ‘devastated’ for friend Guy
Liberal Party leader Jess Wilson said she agreed Mr Guy deserved an apology.
“I’m pleased Victoria Police has concluded the investigation and they found that there is no offence that has been detected,” she said while speaking in Mildura.
“Matthew does deserve an apology, I think that is entirely reasonable that he has asked for that.
Liberal Party leader Jess Wilson agreed that Matthew Guy deserved an apology. (ABC News)
“I’m devastated for Matthew. Matthew is someone I call a friend, he is a colleague, he is a part of my team, and he is someone who has given his life to the Liberal Party,” Ms Wilson said.
Earlier on Friday, Ms Wilson said she had contacted Mrs Deeming.
“I’ve reached out to Moira to seek a conversation with her when she returns from overseas but right now Matthew should have the opportunity to respond.”
Liberals ‘unfit’ for government, Labor says
Mr Guy also said he wanted an apology from Premier Jacinta Allan and Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny.
Earlier on Friday, Ms Kilkenny said the Liberals were in “chaos”, and it was incumbent on Ms Wilson to answer questions about the matter, including whether she will refer the incident to the Parliamentary Integrity Commission.
“These are important matters still for Jess Wilson and her party room,” Ms Kilkenny said.
“It’s no good hiding in Mildura. Silence is not leadership.”
Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny is calling on Opposition Leader Jess Wilson to speak more openly about her handling of the matter. (ABC News)
Ms Kilkenny said the incident has implications for the Liberal Party.
“Her party room is in chaos. How can they possibly be trusted to govern and represent this great state?”
Fellow government frontbencher Nick Staikos said the Liberal party was in a shambles.
“Add to that the chaos of a One Nation coalition, these people have never been more unfit to be the government of Victoria,” he said.
“If they’re not suing each other, they’re reporting each other to the police now.”
The Coalition cancelled a planned press conference on Thursday, in what was to be day five of a “fresh start tour” of every electorate in the state.
Both Moira Deeming and Matthew Guy have declined to comment on the allegation. (Facebook: Matthew Guy)
The ABC understands Ms Wilson’s office sought advice and offered Mrs Deeming three options when she raised the issue.
Options canvassed were making it a criminal matter with Victoria Police, handling it as a workplace matter and having it assessed by the Parliamentary Workplace Standards Commission, or using internal party processes.
MPs were privately bemoaning that internal disputes again threaten to destabilise the party when the Coalition has a shot of forming government in just five months.
Mrs Deeming has declined to comment.
In a social media post on Thursday, Mrs Deeming’s husband Andrew appeared to address the assault allegation.
“As a man — I would never grab a woman by the back of the neck,” the post said.
“As a manager — if a male staff member grabbed a female staff member by the neck, she wouldn’t need to tell me twice or even go to the police, because he’d be gone by the end of the day.”
Men over 40 ‘blamed, scapegoated’, Guy says
During his statement on Friday, Mr Guy said men were often seen as “guilty before proven innocent”.
“Every Australian male probably over 40 seems to be blamed, scapegoated, not believed and now thrown under the bus, even by our own government,” he said.
“The premier and attorney-general yesterday told every Victorian male over 40 they don’t have your back. They never believe you.
“To Aussie males who are sick of this treatment, who are sick of not being believed, some of us in parliament still have your back. I have your back,” Mr Guy said.
“Your word matters as much as anyone else’s. You shouldn’t have to prove your innocence.”
His solicitor Candice Almeida said “false allegations had devastating consequences”.
“They can damage a person’s reputation, career, mental health and their family life, even when those allegations are ultimately be found to be unsubstantiated.
“Women should always be believed, but so should men,” Ms Almeida said.