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Derision rose from the floor as Pesutto took to the stage to deliver a speech on Saturday at the Liberal Partys state council in Bendigo, where he urged the party to unite and focus on the Andrews government ahead of Tuesdays state budget.

Supporters of Moira Deeming at the Liberals state council on Saturday in Bendigo. Penny Stephens

But the meeting was overshadowed by a group of party members wearing Deeming masks, who yelled Shame, shame as dozens of others many of them from Deemings Western Metropolitan electorate left the room before Pesuttos speech.

In response to the walkout, many of Pesuttos supporters rose to their feet to cheer the leader in an attempt to drown out his critics.

Liberal MPs broadly dismissed the walkout and talked down any immediate threat to Pesuttos leadership.

However, several federal and state MPs, who spoke to The Age on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party matters, , particularly if Deeming proceeds with her threat of defamation action against him.

The unrest came just over a week after the parliamentary Liberals voted 19-11 to expel Deeming from their team after she to challenge her nine-month suspension.

and lost her position as upper house whip after attending , that was .

After Saturdays walkout, Pesutto urged more than 300 members who stayed inside the conference room that the party had to remain disciplined and focused.

Whatever we might say about the Labor Party, whatever criticisms you might level, they have kept it together in terms of focus and discipline, he said.

The Victorian Liberals have voted to expel Moira Deeming from the party room during a 90-minute meeting of MPs this morning.

We can win, people want us running the state, but we have to believe in ourselves.

Outside the venue, party members who walked out, including Ross Kroger, Noelle Mason and Maria Cagalj, told The Age Pesuttos actions in supporting the expulsion motion against Deeming were disgraceful and disgusting, and called for him to be replaced.

To have her expelled, its disgusting," Mason said.

John Dunn, a Liberal member for 40 years, said he wrote to Pesutto and called on him to apologise.

Opposition Leader John Pesutto arrives at the meeting in Bendigo on Saturday. Penny Stephens

I know many Liberals are very upset and my only hope now is that you have not destroyed the Liberal Party, he wrote in the letter seen by The Age.

Pesuttos critics also said their anger at him was shared by some federal MPs, and cited .

Senator Sarah Henderson addressed members after Pesutto, and called on the party to expel Prime Minister Anthony Albanese from office, which was widely interpreted as a rebuke of state Liberals decision to expel Deeming.

As a strong and united team which respects our individual freedoms, including the freedom of speech and freedom to be our best selves our broad church working together with you, we can do this, Henderson said.

Pesutto didnt address the Deeming scandal in his speech, and instead made an early election commitment to hold a comprehensive review of the states tax system which would include a review of stamp duty and payroll tax.

He also promised to reinstate a Victorian version of the productivity commission if elected in 2026.

After his speech, Pesutto played down the walkout by more than two dozen members and said he was moved by the standing ovations from supporters.

If there were people that had different views, thats a matter for them, but what I saw was a strong endorsement to my commitment to reforming the party, he said. I was overwhelmed by the strong support in the room.

Senator Sarah Henderson called on the party to expel Anthony Albanese from office in her address. Penny Stephens

Privately, some of his colleagues fear Deemings defamation action will ultimately cost him his job by causing a distraction in the lead-up to the 2026 state election.

One MP said: Labor will weaponise both the bullying and defamation claims, and he wont ever be an effective opposition ... in the longer term he might have to consider an orderly handover.

Pesutto greets federal Liberal MP Dan Tehan at the conference. Penny Stephens

Federal Liberal MPs Dan Tehan, Jane Hume and James Paterson also attended the conference with the majority of state MPs and Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh.

As MPs and grassroots members arrived at the conference, Deemings supporters handed out copies of a newspaper article in which the MP declared in an interview she wont go quietly.

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Shame, shame: Opposition Leader John Pesutto booed at state council meeting - The Age

The prevailing view in Quebecs English-speaking community is that the Trudeau Liberal government has thrown us under the bus with Bill C-13, the federal language law passed Monday in the House of Commons and set for probable Senate approval and royal assent next month.

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A closer examination, I would suggest, shows it was the Conservative Party of Canada that threw us there. And that with C-13, the Liberals pulled us back out.

Many people working on language files within the federal government in 2020, as I was with the Commissioner of Official Languages, could see trouble coming for English and anglophones in Quebec with the election of Erin OToole as Conservative leader.

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OToole wasnt breaking new policy ground; the Bloc Qubcois and New Democratic Party were already in favour of a jurisdiction transfer. What OTooles pledge did mean, though, was that all three opposition parties in the House were now on board. And any opposition member of Parliament could table a private members bill to facilitate the transfer, and the minority Liberal government wouldnt have enough votes to stop it.

Politically, the Liberals had to come up with a response, and it arrived in the form of C-13, tabled in March of last year. This was 10 months after the Quebec government tabled Bill 96 and began to forcefully assert a claim to jurisdiction over the federal private sector in Quebec.

C-13 has two parts to it. Part 1 is a proposed modernization of the OLA. Part 2 proposes a separate affirmative-action law, the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act (UFA), that would apply in Quebec as well as outside Quebec in regions with strong local francophone populations.

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If C-13 gets royal assent without Senate changes, the UFA would create a right for consumers to be served in French, and for employees to work in French, without equal legal rights for English. On the other hand, employers would have the option to offer services in English and communicate with employees in English.

Notable, though, is that the provision permitting the use of English was left untouched. And Quebec conceded the federal government has the right to exempt any company from any provision of the UFA with or without conditions.

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French essential; English optional but not prohibited.

Its fine to legally require French on signs but not English, said the court. But English should be an option, so long as French is predominant.

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As for Part 1 of C-13, the modernization of the OLA, three explicit references to the charter have sparked concerns.

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That Jan. 31 vote was close, though. It was defeated by a 6-5 margin in committee. All four Conservatives, now under leader Pierre Poilievre, voted with the Bloc. The one NDP MP Niki Ashton voted with the five Liberals.

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First under OToole and again under Poilievre, the Conservatives showed no hesitation about throwing English and Quebec anglophones under the bus. Under challenging political circumstances, the Liberals with C-13 have made some real gains for French in Quebec and some real protections for English too. They deserve more credit than they are getting.

David Johnston was the federal Commissioner of Official Languages regional representative in Quebec from 2014 to 2022. He previously worked for 33 years for the Montreal Gazette, concluding as editorial-page editor.

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Opinion: Who threw Quebec anglos under the bus? Not Trudeau's Liberals - Montreal Gazette

Anna Gainey will be the Liberal candidate in a byelection scheduled to be held in the riding of Notre-Dame-de-GrceWestmount June 19.

In a tweet posted Monday night, Gainey, a past president of the Liberal Party of Canada and director of a foundation that supports charitable organizations offering environmental and arts education programs for youth, thanked her supporters for the nomination.

The federal Liberal party congratulated Gainey, describing her as a dedicated community leader ready to be a strong voice for people across her community in Ottawa.

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The Conservative Party of Canada also nominated its candidate Monday: Mathew Kaminski, who ran against Garneau in 2021 and came in third with 14 per cent of the vote. The accountant describes himself as a fiscal conservative who believes in transparency and financial responsibility.

Two people are seeking the nomination to run for the New Democratic Party in the byelection: Jean-Franois Filion, an English professor, and Malcolm Lewis-Richmond, a longtime party member.

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Three other ridings will also hold byelections on June 19: Oxford, in Ontario, and PortageLisgar and Winnipeg South Centre in Manitoba.

Voters can cast their ballots in advance polls June 9-12.

Rejected ballots: 446

Total votes: 46,037 of 73,595 total voters (turnout of 62.6%)

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Anna Gainey will run for Liberals in N.D.G.Westmount byelection - Montreal Gazette

George, it wasnt geography and demographics that kept your party out of government, it was poor policy and incompetence. Scotty from Marketing didnt help either. John Bailey, Canterbury

The Liberal Party in the doldrums has less to do with geography and demography and more to do with ideological shifts within the party. The proud party of Menzies was never as conservative as it is today. Yes, it supported business but also ordinary families, which is why he was so admired and successful as PM. My suggestion would be the Liberals of today do a lot of reading up on Menzies, his thoughts and plans for a new Liberal Party. Glenys Quirk, Forster

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Brandis may appear to be taking a reasoned view of the state of the Liberal Party, but his bias is showing. Despite his many excuses, the Libs have simply lost touch with a large part of their voter base. They dont appear to be prepared to admit that their drift to the right is not popular with voters. Their negativity on a number of issues, particularly climate change, has ensured that better informed voters have left them behind. Derrick Mason, Boorowa

Brandis makes some accurate comments about the geography and demographic shifts that are detrimentally affecting the Liberal Partys electability. However, he fails to address the elephant in the room and that is the quality of the Liberals and indeed the Coalitions front bench team. They are clearly not fit for purpose as a viable alternative government. It is difficult to see how this issue can be improved in the short to medium term, no matter what analysis of voter demographic is undertaken. David Boyd, Bondi Beach

Dutton is dog whistling to an older, conservative regional group. In doing so, he is alienating himself and his party from the rest of Australia. The next election will be a lay-down misere for Labor. Nicholas Triggs, Katoomba

The premiers quest for public land for homes misses the point. In the inner city there is still public land available, but for private, not public, housing (, May 15). In Pyrmont, the previous government proposed to hand over the current Sydney Fish Markets site at Blackwattle Bay for private development, involving 36-storey residential towers above bulky podiums. It is not too late for the new government to require 30 per cent of any development on this site to be public and/or affordable housing, owned and managed by public government agencies. There are similar opportunities to reduce the huge waiting list for public housing by making available publicly owned land in the Bays West Precinct in Rozelle, plans for which have not yet been finalised. Elizabeth Elenius, Pyrmont

Illustration: Matt Golding Matt Golding

There appears to be no limit to the contempt that the Coalition has for the poor and disadvantaged. We now learn that the previous state government managed to flog off 7628 public houses to wealthy buyers, but only built 4500 replacements (, May 15). Thus, the new Labor government faces a huge housing backlog before it even begins to build for the hundreds of thousands of planned new tenants, not to mention homes for urgently needed frontline workers who need affordable housing right now. The current housing crisis will get even worse - expect even more homelessness, skyrocketing rents, increased social inequality and declining mental health. John Mackay, Asquith

Once again the Coalition shows their contempt for anything with the word public in front of it. Whether its housing, transport, health, education or broadcasting, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that the Coalition is a public menace. Phil Bradshaw, Naremburn

The Heralds expose into the rapacious flogging of billions of dollars of public housing stock invites the question - how many public houses were built using the proceeds of the 2019 Sirius building sale for $150 million? Mark Paskal, Austinmer

While it may be true that removing tax benefits for rental properties would lead to many being sold, thus causing a drop in property prices (May 15) I wonder if that would be an entirely bad thing. If property prices reduced substantially then many people currently locked out of buying would be able to get into their own property and property investors would do so with a more long-term view. That could mean more entry-level housing at affordable prices and maybe not so much difference to the rest? Or possibly since the price of buying was less, even slightly lower or at least stabilised rents? Sheryl Black, Coffs Harbour

Your correspondent sees negative gearing of residential property as preventing homelessness. This is an interesting take on this vexed and contentious issue. When budget week has come and gone like last weeks news, and sources of revenue vital for the ongoing maintenance of society highlighted, to allow residential property investment costs to be claimed against all sources of income to avoid tax, is favouring a few to the detriment of many. John Kingsmill, Fairlight

The news of a net loss in public housing is dispiriting. It is one thing to fail to make a difference on homelessness, its another to bank the money and go home to a warm house full of food. David Gunter, Surry Hills

Go bigger and go better, Premier. Increase the target to 50 per cent of all new homes on public land to be social, affordable or community housing. Geoffrey Williamson, Woollahra

Minns is set to rezone existing public green space to house the migrants under Albaneses plans. The alternative is to clear new land. Neither is an option to my liking.Jenny Greenwood, Hunters Hill

Which came first? The housing shortage or the tradie shortage? Eric Sekula, Turramurra

Louise Herron (, May 15) rightly claims the Sydney Opera House was an unlikely miracle; so much so that Utzon was surprised when it proceeded. But the design miracle she keenly boasts about lies hidden from view underfoot beneath the floors of the Concert Hall and Opera Theatre. The roof sails heavy thick concrete rib vaults are not remotely like the ones proposed in the Red Book of 1959 which used parabolic geometry, echoing Eero Saarinens Jefferson Memorial arch in the mall at St Louis, Missouri. Almost nothing is known about the origin of the Utzon design, beyond the fact that it was a late entry completed in a rush at the last minute with collaborator and Swedish architect Erik Andersson. After 50 years, isnt it time the Opera House supported a genuine research effort into the origin and inspiration of Utzons design? Before any further tampering and improvements are undertaken, should we not have answers to fully understand its essence? Philip Drew, Annandale

When I attended a test concert at the recently completed Sydney Opera House on April 1, 1973, the current valuation of $6 billion would have been inconceivable. After an initial budget of $7 million, the final cost was more than $50 million and everyone was just glad to see it finally finished. Back then, after so much controversy, the interior seemed gloriously luxurious. Photography was permitted and I still have slides of the sparkling pink seats, the soaring concrete arches overhead, the tall flutes of the organ, the harbour view from the North Foyer, even the glass doughnuts over the stage. Its the Sydney icon beloved by Australians and what all tourists want to see and photograph. Its recognised all over the world. Who could possibly put a valuation on that? Judith Rostron, Killarney Heights

Its a tough ask, Louise Herron, to encourage today the same adventurous spirit that brought us the Sydney Opera House. Today were ruled by the dollar, not the spirit. Greg Baker, Fitzroy Falls

My father never taught me all that much about women, but he did impart one crucial lesson to me when I was a teenager: women are people, not meat (, May 15). Ive never forgotten that conversation. Even if pornography is teaching teenage boys the wrong lessons about sex, the bigger problem is ineffectual fathers failing to teach their sons the right ones instead. Children should be learning from their parents, not from the internet, and the onus should be on the adults responsible for their upbringing. James Short, Belmore

Pornography is poorly regulated, and no doubt wishes to remain so. Five billion accessing porn per month, or 62 per cent of the worlds population, is BIG business. Now the evidence is out that porn harms children and women and regulation left to parents and schools is ragtag. It sounds like a job for government to introduce legislation to minimise harm to our population. Anne Matheson, Gordon

What is this obsession that the ABC has with appealing to younger audiences (, May 15)? Does it not realise that there were good reasons for why my generation stayed loyal to the ABC from the time we were teenagers? None of those programs we enjoyed then were particularly targeted at young people, apart from the rock station 2JJ, and GTK and Countdown on TV, but they were appealing simply because they were innovative, challenging, intelligent and well-made. The ABCs focus now should be on content attracting talent in programming, journalism and broadcasting, producing the best in local content, buying quality overseas programs or imitating their formats. It should avoid the slickly commercial, the superficial appeals to a wider audience and the tedious self-promotion. Only then will it differentiate itself in the marketplace by being a consistently high-quality service that justifies its existence and contributes richly to Australian society. Lyndall Nelson, Goulburn

Its good to see at least one ABC person commenting on the loss of ABC radio dedicated listeners. What has driven us away? Ads, ads, ads ad nauseam. ABC, if youre going to promote the ABC, promote it on commercial radio and TV. Your dedicated listeners are already listening: well, we were. Music programs filled with endless chatter instead of music. Two, or even three, announcers having a talkfest among themselves, instead of announcers who know how to genuinely talk to the audience. On TV, a truly disturbing voice that, within milliseconds of program credits rolling, shouts mindless inanities at us. Usually something about an explosive forthcoming episode. What has exploded is ABCs quality. Peter Thompson, Grenfell

The article on the ABCs declining ratings in radio is interesting but fails to address a core problem with the ABC generally in the minds of mainstream Australia it is Sydney-centric. A former Victorian ABC News director observed in 2018 that the news bulletins in all states are directed by the newsroom in Ultimo. The diminishing group of ABC radio listeners in the other state capitals have tired of this Ultimo provincialism and bulletins that lack relevance to the 21 million mainstream Australians. The problem extends to television news services (particularly the news channel 24) which, in their contents and tone, are even more markedly driven by an Ultimo perspective. A capacity to produce a balanced federal news service that is relevant to the 80 per cent of the nation that lives beyond Sydney seems to be impossible. Sydney listeners and viewers may not see this the ABC is producing a product for them, instead of Australia. Whatever the outcome of Ultimo navel-gazing, I suspect nothing will change, other than for the worse and ratings will decline further. That the ABC is proposing to relocate some operations to Parramatta, says it all really. Brian Kidd, Mt Waverley

I dont care what John Howard thinks. He probably doesnt care what I think. But to say sports people should not comment about the Voice is bloody political censorship. He always was out of date and out of time. Witness same-sex marriage, the rise of feminism and the struggle of transgender people. Howard and his band of conservatives always back the wrong horses. I wouldnt take him to the races. John Rome, Mt Lawley

Sean Kelly says Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has benefitted from the oddity of when an MP becomes leader of a major party we let them start again (, May 15). However, cannot the same be said of Anthony Albanese who has reincarnated to a centrist prime minister? Previously, he was a warrior of Labors socialist left who only 11 years ago said I like fighting Tories. Thats what I do. Riley Brown, Bondi Beach

I dont have the intellect to appreciate Pollock. Tim Wynn Jones, Homebush

Perhaps Labor is deferring to a more ancient authority than Keynes (Letters, May 15) in sticking to the stage three tax cuts: Though the sky falls in, we wont change our mind. Meredith Williams, Northmead

Online comment from one of the stories that attracted the most reader feedback yesterday on smh.com.au

From MJ: Tax avoidance is a big deal in Australia. Although Id like to see the ATO chase big corporate offenders who hire people to purposely exploit loopholes.

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Brandis blind to Liberals real problems - Sydney Morning Herald

We must seriously rethink our current trajectory of loosening restrictions on casual gun ownership and engage more deeply about our culture of violence and the supply of guns in our communities.

Lang Wiseman| Guest Columnist

Thousands link arms from Vanderbilt to Capitol to push for gun reform

Thousands gathered and linked arms Tuesday, April 18, 2023 along a route from Monroe Carrel Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt to the Tennessee Capitol on Tuesday evening in a push for stronger laws.

Kiana Billings, Nashville Tennessean

When I was in grade school, we had tornado drills. These days, my children our children have active shooter drills. Let that sink in.

We demand that our children practice hiding from people we know may come to kill them. And yet when it actually happens, over and over again, even here in our own backyard in Tennessee, we cant seem to break free of the partisan battle lines honed for years by political operatives and media outlets who profit from division and outrage.

I am a longtime conservative who came up through the ranks. I paid my dues and worked closely with elected officials. Ive been in public service myself, and I own guns and wouldnt hesitate to use them to defend my loved ones. Ive been a member of the NRA. But weve reached a point where we must revisit our culture of guns. Enough is enough.

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The issues are complex, and theres plenty of fault to go around. The loud extremes on both sides revel in toxicity that chokes out rational thought and common sense. Liberals seem willing to disregard the Constitution and often display little understanding of the very guns they demand to regulate, making it all too easy for conservatives to dismiss them.

For their part, conservatives refuse even to engage in debate for fear its a trap toward eliminating guns altogether.

Liberals respond with contempt, portraying conservatives as loving guns more than children. Conservatives point out that bad guys dont follow rules anyway, so why make it harder for law-abiding citizens to protect their families? After all, guns dont kill people; people do.

But sometimes bad people do ruin things for everyone else. Mass shootings are now commonplace, and weve reached the point where guns are the leading cause of death of our children. Our society has changed. Our culture has changed. And the mental health condition of our country has changed. We are in crisis, and we cannot ignore the reality of this cultural moment.

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In every other field of study and business we constantly evaluate and measure performance and adapt our approach and policies to key environmental variables in the marketplace. Why should this be any different?

So where do we start? We must first double down on school security and school hardening, which our governor has been prioritizing for some time, both monetarily and programmatically. We need more of that. Now.

But we cant stop there. We need better legal tools to keep and remove guns from people who show warning signs of violence. Some claim we already have mental health laws on the books, but dont be fooled. Our existing laws were never designed to manage these life and death situations. Family and friends often see the warnings signs, and we must reinvent and expand our laws to timely and effectively respond before tragedy strikes. Many will argue that such legal tools are not perfect, but we are well beyond the point of allowing perfect to be the enemy of good.

Beyond that, we must seriously rethink our current trajectory of loosening restrictions on casual gun ownership and engage more deeply about our culture of violence and the supply of guns in our communities. That will require us to embrace the spirit of humility and grace and openness to meaningful dialogue and thoughtful compromise. And that will mean having the courage to stand up to our own political extremes on both sides. Indeed, while it may take courage to stand up to our enemies, it often requires a great deal more to stand up to our friends.

Lang Wiseman is a partner at Baker Donelson law firm. He previously served as deputy to the governor and chief counsel in Gov. Bill Lee's administration.

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Liberals and conservatives must stop fighting and find solutions to ... - Commercial Appeal