Pesutto loses legal case
The Federal Court of Australia has ordered Victorian Liberal Leader John Pesutto to pay $300,000 in damages to expelled party MP Moira Deeming after deciding in her favour in a defamation case she brought against him over claims she was portrayed as a Nazi sympathiser.
The Federal Court of Australia has ordered Victorian Liberal Leader John Pesutto to pay $300,000 in damages to expelled party MP Moira Deeming after deciding in her favour in a defamation case she brought against him over claims she was portrayed as a Nazi sympathiser.
Justice David O’Callaghan upheld Deeming’s claims Pesutto had unjustifiably portrayed her as a Nazi sympathiser after white supremacists appeared at a women’s rights rally she organised on the steps of State Parliament in March last year.
After the rally, held on March 19 last year, Deeming’s alleged role in organising it was condemned by the Jewish Community Council of Victoria and other Jewish organisations.
It prompted the Andrews government to announce plans to ban Nazi salutes in Victoria, with then premier Daniel Andrews telling The AJN at the time, there were “very worrying signs across Victoria that antisemitic incidents are on the rise” and “there are many members of the Jewish community that are particularly concerned”.
Pesutto later succeeded in expelling Deeming from the parliamentary party, and she has since sat as an independent.
Justice O’Callaghan ruled against Pesutto’s defences of public interest, honest opinion, common law and qualified privilege, adding that his defence of contextual truth did not apply in the circumstances.
Media reported shock at the judgment within state Liberal ranks.
The Herald Sun reported Pesutto had made a “substanial offer” in a bid for an out-of-court settlement.
On March 27, 2023, Deeming was suspended from the parliamentary Liberal Party for nine months on a 19-11 vote split.
But after repeated comments that she would launch a lawsuit against her leader, the MP was permanently expelled from the parliamentary team in May last year.
Holding a media conference outside court after the decision today (Thursday), Deeming said she expected to be readmitted to the parliamentary party.
Pesutto told media yesterday that regardless of the verdict, “I will continue to spend every waking moment fighting for the issues Victorians care deeply about”.
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