Liberal MP Moira Deeming has apologised to her supporters for “distractions” ahead of a court battle to determine her political future.
Ms Deeming issued the apology to Victorians after she took the Liberal Party to the Supreme Court in a bid to retain her candidacy for the November state election.
Last Friday, the Liberal Party state executive was due to meet to vote on revoking Ms Deeming’s preselection after the MP refused to apologise to former Opposition leader Matthew Guy when Victoria Police dismissed her claim that he put her in a headlock.
In a video shared to Ms Deeming’s social media on Tuesday afternoon, the MP told her supporters she hoped they knew they “can still trust” her.
“I think it’s time that I address the fact that there have been so many distractions, so many huge distractions that have taken away from the work that you as my constituents and Victorians really needed to be done,” she said.
“I am genuinely so, so sorry that all of these things over the past three and a half years have happened.”
Sky News Australia host Caleb Bond said Ms Deeming had “lost support from some of the people who gave her her greatest support when she was unfairly targeted by John Pesutto and wrongly labelled as though she was associated with neo-Nazis”.
Earlier this term, the MP successfully sued then-Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto for defamation.
“We’ve all seen the footage, I don’t think any of us think that was a headlock, (and) to then claim that she didn’t actually understand what a headlock was, I mean that’s real roll your eyes territory,” Bond said.
“The one thing that Matthew Guy fairly asked for, and that (Opposition Leader) Jess Wilson also asked of her, was an apology, right? That’s all they wanted.
“She refused to give that and now she puts up a video saying, well, I apologise for the distractions that have happened over the last few years, by which she’s then linking it all back to the John Pesutto thing.
“Now, yes, it’s true that we probably wouldn’t end up in this position if it weren’t for what John Pesutto stupidly did all those years ago. But that’s not really what this is about.
“Moira Deeming made a complaint to police that was not upheld, she should have just apologised and we all could have moved on, but that’s not happened.
“She’s now run off to the court to try and stop the state executive from running a motion to potentially have her expelled and so we’ve got to wait another two weeks to get an answer on that.
“It just drags out longer and longer and it feels like she knows her time in the Liberal Party is up and she’s just kind of dragging them along with her.”
In a statement released through her lawyer last week, Ms Deeming said she misunderstood the meaning of the word “headlock” but would not be apologising for the false claim because she made it in good faith.