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

Dinesh Gourisetty, a Victorian Liberal who defeated Moira Deeming for the party's upper house ballot spot, is being cast out by Liberal leader Jess Wilson after it emerged he provided a court character reference for a friend convicted of sexually assaulting a child. Wilson declared Gourisetty "not welcome" on her team following the revelation about his support for the convicted offender. The move signals the Victorian Liberals' attempt to distance themselves from the controversy and reinforces internal party tensions following Deeming's demotion. Gourisetty has been accused of being a "pedophile supporter" for backing someone who groomed a 15-year-old girl. The incident compounds recent scrutiny of the party's upper house candidate selections.