Victorian Liberals to hold another preselection after candidate who defeated Moira Deeming withdraws

<p>Dinesh Gourisetty ‘not welcome’ in party after revelations he provided court reference for a friend convicted of sexually assaulting a child</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/mar/30/australia-politics-live-national-cabinet-fuel-prices-oil-crisis-labor-anthony-albanese-chris-bowen-coalition-angus-taylor-ntwnfb">Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates</a></p></li><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p>The Victorian Liberals will hold <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/29/victorian-liberal-party-moira-deeming-preselection">another preselection convention</a> to elect a candidate for a top spot on the party’s upper house ticket, after it was revealed the man who replaced Moira Deeming wrote a court character reference for a friend who was convicted of grooming a 15-year-old girl.</p><p>Dinesh Gourisetty, who <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/29/victorian-liberal-party-moira-deeming-preselection">defeated Deeming </a>on Sunday in a preselection vote for the party’s candidates for the western metropolitan region at the upcoming November election, has told the executive he did not want to step down after the revelations.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/30/moira-deeming-dinesh-gourisetty-sex-offender-character-reference-victorian-liberals-ntwnfb">Continue reading...</a>