The Victorian Liberal Party faces the prospect of losing a seat and former leader, John Pesutto, if he is bankrupted trying to pay a $2.3 million penalty after losing his defamation case brought by Moria Deeming.
Deeming is a Liberal Party member of the state’s Legislative Council, she filed a defamation case against Pesutto after he made remarks about her attending a women’s rights rally called, “Let Women Speak,” that featured internationally known activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, also known as Posie Parker.
The rally was gate-crashed by uninvited neo-Nazis, who claimed they were there in support of Parker.
Pesutto subsequently made remarks that the court found implied that Deeming associated with Nazis. She denied any such connection and said Pesutto’s words damaged her reputation and thus constituted defamation.
When Deeming threatened to take legal action against her then-leader, she was expelled from the party, though she was subsequently reinstated after Pesutto lost the leadership to Brad Battin in December last year.
Also that month, the Federal Court ordered Pesutto to pay Deeming $315,000 in damages, and the legal argument since then has centred on the level of costs.
Deeming’s legal team sought $2.4 million while Pesutto’s countered with $1.8 million, arguing that she had crowd-funded some of her expenses.
But registrar Alison Legge decided that money that was gifted or loaned was not relevant to the costs order and ruled that Pesutto must pay $2.309 million towards Deeming’s costs.
The barrister acting for Pesutto, Daryl Williams, said his client intends to request more time to pay, so he can consider whether to appeal on the basis that the crowdfunding was not taken into account.
Both Deeming and Pesutto are still in parliament, but if Pessutto is bankrupted as a result of being unable to pay—which is likely—that will disqualify him from holding elected office. If he is forced to resign, there is no guarantee the Liberals will retain his seat of Hawthorn in eastern Melbourne.
Meanwhile, all the living Victorian Liberal Premiers—Jeff Kennett, Ted Baillieu and Denis Napthine—had donated to a fund to help pay Pesutto’s expenses, and he’s now expected to launch his own crowdfunding drive.
But the Liberal Party and its associated entity, the Cormack Foundation, appear unconvinced by arguments that they should help Pesutto, even with a loan. Battin refused to comment on the issue, other than to say he'd like to see Pesutto remain in parliament and contest Hawthorn in November 2026.
