Hard-right MP and Bulla resident Bernie Finn has been voted out of the parliamentary Liberal party and onto the cross bench for “disrespect”, following anti-abortion social media posts last week.
Mr Finn’s former colleagues voted on the motion in a party room meeting on Tuesday morning.
Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy said the motion was about “respectful discourse”, even citing Mr Finn’s previous posts comparing premier Daniel Andrews to Hitler.
“It’s not about what people are saying, it’s about how it’s said and it’s about behaviour, I think I’ve made that very clear over the last week and a half,” Mr Guy said.
The push comes following Mr Finn’s controversial Facebook posts in which he said he was “praying” for abortion to be banned in Australia, even in the case of rape.
Last week, Mr Finn told Star Weekly he had been approached by “five or six” parties since the beginning of last year, including “two or three” in the 24 hours before the announcement of a party room vote last Tuesday. He did not reveal who.
Following Tuesday’s announcement, footage showed Mr Finn making his way down the parliament steps toward a crowd of cheering supporters.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday morning, Mr Finn said “In the state that was once the jewel in the Liberal crown, the party of Menzies is dead. May it Rest In Peace”. The post garnered about 600 likes.
Mr Guy said the decision was “about leadership”.
“I’m concerned about one thing – being a sensible, reasonable, alternative government and that is what we’re going to do, and that is what we are doing. It’s another example today,” Mr Guy said.
Mr Finn was contacted for comment.
