Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto is under fire for suspending rather than expelling Moira Deeming from the parliamentary Liberal party.
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The upper house MP was handed a nine-month suspension on Monday after a long and emotional party room meeting.
She initially faced expulsion, a move triggered by Mr Pesutto after she spoke at an anti-trans rights event attended by neo-Nazis.
But Mr Pesutto instead put forward the suspension proposal after Ms Deeming condemned Nazism and bigotry against the LGBTQI community early on Monday morning.
Acting Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has criticised Mr Pesutto, saying the suspension showed he failed to act against hate and bigotry.
"He comprehensively failed the test he set himself," Ms Allan said on Tuesday.
"Last week, he was saying there was absolutely no alternative - Moira Deeming could not sit in the Liberal party room for a moment longer.
"Yesterday, we have seen John Pesutto absolutely humiliated by his party group."
But Mr Pesutto said he acted appropriately after Ms Deeming made the necessary concessions and his decision was supported by the rest of his MPs.
"A suspension is a serious thing and it conveys a message of disapproval of what's being done," he told the ABC on Tuesday morning.
"I'm a strong believer that leadership requires both strength and empathy and my party room colleagues backed me unanimously."
The Liberal leader put Ms Deeming on notice after she tweeted her support for anti-trans activists Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull and Angie Jones hours after she was suspended.
"Moira is not off to a good start," Mr Pesutto said.
"The party room will be very seriously concerned if Moira doesn't prove herself by faithfully observing what we agreed to."
Mr Pesutto said Ms Deeming would not be able to re-enter the party room if she continued to be inconsistent with her concessions.
"It's up to her to prove that she's worthy of that," he said.
In her statement on Monday night, Ms Deeming said her rally attendance may have been an error of judgment and she accepted the suspension.
She denied having any ties to Nazism, saying she would support the many diverse communities in Victoria.
Australian Associated Press
