She was the mother of four children who inadvertently became the face of Nazi hatred for the transgender community.
But against the backdrop of her political masters’ infamous smear campaign, Moira Deming not only survives a failed attempt to be expelled from the Liberal Party, but emerges as a poster girl for protecting the rights of ordinary women.
Now, some of those close to Deeming have given Daily Mail Australia glimpses of what makes her tick – and reveal why the controversial MP is more determined than ever to stick to her values.
Moira Deming (centre) arrives at the Parliament of Victoria in Melbourne on Monday. She walked with suspension, but will be free to continue her mission to protect the rights of women and children
Liberal Party MP Moira Deming on March 21 when party leaders turn on her in an ill-advised witch hunt
Victorian Liberal leader John Pesoto had wanted to expel the MP from the party after her appearance at the neo-Nazi Let Women Speak rally on 18 March.
But the difficult task failed spectacularly.
Rather than be expelled from the party, Mrs. Deming is suspended from the party room for nine months.
Political insiders say the suspension may actually allow Ms. Deming – who represents Victoria’s Western District – to spend more time focusing on her job.
“She won’t have to attend their meetings, which in itself is a blessing,” a source said on Tuesday.
Understandably, Deming is now taking time off to enjoy a holiday with her family while the dust settles from Pesutto’s botched takedown attempt.
She declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday.
Activist Kelly J Kane Mincholl addresses the women of Melbourne on March 18.
Neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell caused an outcry when he and his colleagues showed up at the Let Women Speak rally
The Melbourne Gate was smashed by the Nazis at the March’s Let the Women Speak rally. Their attendance saw Moira Deming erroneously labeled a Nazi sympathizer
Born to devoted and loving parents in Upper Pakenham – 53 kilometers southeast of Melbourne’s CBD – Deming led a somewhat disjointed life after their divorce and eventually landed across Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne’s western suburbs in her teenage years.
With a passion for education, Mrs. Deming set out to study and become a teacher, which she did for over a decade before being inspired to join her local council in Melton.
She started life as a left-leaning supporter of the Labor Party, which those who know her say are values she still adheres to today.
“She became liberal mainly because they were more democratic in their internal structure and had the ability to speak their different opinions,” said one of Mrs. Deming’s friends.
I think Moira was grieving that Labor had become an echo chamber where you couldn’t talk about things. This is sad for the vast majority of Labor voters because they have identical views with her.
Mr. Pesoto’s attempt to expel Deming from the party forces her to reveal intimate details of her formative years, which included being sexually abused as a child.
In a speech in the ballroom, Mrs. Deming reveals that she was raped as a child and sexually assaulted by men in the toilets, which prompted her actions.
A close friend of Ms Deming told Daily Mail Australia that she had been attacked by vile and opportunistic men.
Predators are what they are. They’re just predators and they’re very good at preying on kids… I think it was just one of those kids that predators can pick out as vulnerable and that’s why it’s so high in having clear criteria,” she said.
Mrs. Deming’s experiences as a child were sparked when laws were changed to allow men to enter women’s restrooms and changing rooms.
It was an issue she raised as a private citizen with every council in Victoria.
Moira Deming and her husband, Andrew, during a trip to the UK. The couple have four children together
How the Victorian Liberal leader worked to end MP
Victorian opposition leader John Pesoto shot himself in the foot, accusing Moira Deming of falsely linking her to the Nazis
John Pessuto confirmed he intended to put forward a motion to expel Ms. Deming as a member of the Parliamentary Liberal Party, declaring her position on 20 March “indefensible”.
“Not only did Moira Deming attend this protest on the steps of parliament, she was actively involved in various ways in organizing and promoting this protest which had speakers with known links to neo-Nazis,” he told ABC News Breakfast.
“I won’t have any of it.”
“What I am doing is a statement that we will never tolerate or accept any association with neo-Nazis and white supremacists or anyone who sympathizes with them.”
On Monday, after thwarting his mission to fire her, Mr. Pesoto said Ms. Deming had made some “important concessions” and “condemned” material in a file that helped change her fate.
“I don’t think the vast majority of people know that, but by law now you have to assume that everyone who is in a public toilet today has the right to be there,” she told the Sentinel-Times in July. 2021.
“If we go into the women’s changing rooms and there’s a guy stripping there in front of my girls, I can’t do anything about it except leave.”
Those close to Deming told Daily Mail Australia the past few weeks have made her even more determined to stick to her values.
She prepared a winning speech and a losing speech, but not her unfair and useless comment speech. But she is firm. A source said they wouldn’t make her sell her values.
She is not interested in being a sensation or creating a long-term career as a Sky News host. She’ll put her head down and figure out how to make a difference in these laws and she won’t care about taking credit for it. It is about how to effectively influence laws to restore some of the basic rights of the child and some rights based on gender.
While the media spread a narrative that Deming carried an “extreme right-wing agenda”, Deming’s supporters told Daily Mail Australia that she never came close to the top three issues fitting that mould.
“She never identified public policy issues related to sex work, euthanasia and abortion,” a source said.
“It’s possible that there are certain aspects of those policies that she’s pursuing, but it’s not accurate to say she has a huge agenda and there’s no evidence that says that’s her agenda and we’re all just not sure why people keep saying that.”
They further declared that Ms Deeming was not campaigning for “anti-trans rights”.
“She has gone on record over and over again that she is happy to take care of them,” said the source.
Indeed, Deming has been known to place itself at the center of left and right ideologies.
“She is simply open to learning and listening to things before she takes a political stance,” said the source.
Pesutto’s move saw Ms Deeming gain support from the conservative faction of the Liberal Party, which is believed to be a first in her political career.
Whether she will continue to enjoy this support going forward remains up in the air.
She will always vote on her conscience. It would be pointless to give her a list of people to vote for. She doesn’t make deals. The source said she would vote for the best candidate each time.