Moira Deeming misunderstood meaning of ‘headlock’ but won’t apologise to Matthew Guy for assault allegation

Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming has stated she will not apologize to her colleague Matthew Guy, the opposition's public transport spokesperson, following her allegation that he assaulted her. The incident allegedly occurred in May at a Macedonian community event in Sunshine, Melbourne, where Deeming claimed Guy placed her in a "headlock."

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She accepts that she misunderstood the technical meaning of the term ‘headlock’, but maintains that she used it in good faith to describe what happened.

Last week, it was revealed Deeming had reported the incident to the police. However, following the circulation of CCTV footage from the event on Thursday, police announced they had concluded their investigation, stating no offense was detected.

In a statement released Monday, Deeming's lawyer, Tim Houweling of Cornerstone Legal, explained that her complaint was based on her recollection. After viewing the CCTV footage for the first time, Deeming conceded she had misunderstood the "technical meaning of the term 'headlock.'"

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Our client maintains that from her perspective this physical contact by a senior male colleague in the workplace was unexpected, unwelcome, physically painful and caused her to feel fear and confusion.

"She accepts that she misunderstood the technical meaning of the term ‘headlock,’ but maintains that she used it in good faith to describe what happened," Houweling stated. "Our client maintains that from her perspective this physical contact by a senior male colleague in the workplace was unexpected, unwelcome, physically painful and caused her to feel fear and confusion."

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She will not apologise for something she has not done.

Deeming's legal team categorically rejects any suggestion that her complaint was falsely made, deeming such allegations defamatory. The complaint was reportedly made as a last resort after internal Liberal party processes failed to resolve the incident. Houweling added that the matter was exacerbated by Deeming's history of sexual abuse and PTSD, and that she regretted the matter becoming public. Deeming is expected to meet with senior Liberals to seek an internal resolution.

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She considers it deeply regrettable that this matter was not able to remain within the Party’s confidential processes and that it has instead become the subject of public commentary, causing unnecessary distress to all those involved.