Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto has been accused of going on a defamation “roadshow” against expelled MP Moira Deeming, after an audio tape surfaced that reportedly contradicts his testimony in a high-stakes court case.
Deeming filed a slander lawsuit against the Liberal leader on claims he made about her attending a 2023 Let Women Speak rally, which was gatecrashed by a group of masked males who performed the Nazi salute.
Several Liberal MPs will testify during the three-week trial, including federal Senator Sarah Henderson, current Victorian Liberal MP Renee Heath, and former MP Matt Bach.
A schematic provided to the court depicted five different groups of activists and demonstrators supporting various causes gathered near Parliament on the day of the Let Women Speak Rally.
Deeming’s counsel, Sue Chrysanthou SC, stated that her client did not observe anyone making a Nazi salute until a group of males unrelated to her gathering were led away by police.
“Really all those men did in connection with my client was interfere with a group of women,” the defense attorney claimed. She alleged Pesutto went on a “quite the roadshow to defame my client” in subsequent media appearances about the events outside parliament.
Chrysanthou accused him of launching a “campaign of destruction” against Deeming, who had such a high reputation that she was nominated as party whip before “he tarred her with the Nazi brush”.
An audio tape that contradicts Pesutto’s testimony regarding what happened in a critical meeting between the party’s senior leadership and Deeming surfaced one week before the trial began, Chrysanthou stated.
She claimed Pesutto, a defamation lawyer, did not inform his counsel that senior Liberal David Southwick had a 70-minute recording of the meeting.
“Knowing there was a recording and not mentioning it or providing it to his lawyers, that’s very strange behavior,” Chrysanthou told the Federal Court today.
Multiple text conversations and emails between Liberal staffers and politicians were read in court, including one from Pesutto’s chief of staff, Louise Staley, who advised him to “consider expelling” Deeming on the evening of the event.
“I think we need to talk about Moira. Do we honestly believe that her poor judgment, and worse, will not continue to harm us?” Pesutto messaged Southwick.
Chrysanthou previously represented broadcaster Lisa Wilkinson in Bruce Lehrmann’s high-profile lawsuit against Network Ten earlier this year.
Pesutto appeared at court holding hands with his wife, Betty, and his counsel, Matt Collins KC, who represented Network Ten in the civil lawsuit.
Deeming was suspended and eventually dismissed from the Liberal Party before becoming an independent in parliament.
Mediation between her and Pesutto fell down in 2023 due to the former Liberal MP’s demand to return to the party room unconditionally.
Pesutto denies any wrongdoing and has previously made agreements with rally speaker Kellie-Jay Keen and organiser Angela Jones, apologizing publicly to both women.
His barrister has yet to address the court.
