John Pesutto could face shock election challenge from defamation rival Angela Jones

Hawthorn MP John Pesutto is set to face an unlikely challenge at next year’s state election from a prominent women’s rights activist who sued him for defamation amid the Moira Deeming legal debacle.

Hawthorn MP John Pesutto is set to face an unlikely challenge at next year’s state election, with prominent women’s rights activist Angela Jones considering taking him on.

The Herald Sun has confirmed that Ms Jones is weighing up running as an independent at next year’s state election in a move that could swing the result of the ultra-marginal seat.

It would put Mr Pesutto and Ms Jones head to head again, after they faced off in a messy defamation action tied to the long-running Moira Deeming affair.

John Pesutto is facing an unlikely challenge at next year’s state election. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

“I was approached by some locals to run and I thought it was a joke at first,” Ms Jones said.

“But things have fallen into place with funding and I’m seriously considering it.”

Mr Pesutto holds his seat with a narrow margin of just 1.7 per cent, one of the smallest of Victoria’s 88 lower house electorates.

He first won the once blue riband seat in 2014, but lost it to Labor’s John Kennedy in 2018.

He narrowly clinched it back in 2022 after which he was elected leader of the Victorian Liberal Party and consequently leader of the opposition.

Angela Jones is weighing up running as an independent at next year’s state election. Picture: X

He stayed in the role until December last year, but was ultimately undone by a chain of events prompted by his move to expel Mrs Deeming from his party room.

That move followed her attendance at a women’s rights rally in March 2023 alongside Ms Jones and prominent UK activist Kellie-Jay Keen.

All three women later sued Mr Pesutto for defamation amid claims he damaged the reputations of Ms Jones and Ms Keen by associating them with Nazis in his campaign to expel Ms Deeming.

Moira Deeming won her defamation case against Mr Pesutto.

Mrs Deeming won her defamation case, with Mr Pesutto ordered to pay her $315,000 in compensation and more than $2.3m in legal costs.

He settled actions brought by Ms Jones and Ms Keen privately.

As part of the settlements Mr Pesutto issued a public apology to both women saying he “never believed” the women were neo-Nazis.

“It is also now clear from public statements made by Ms Keen and Ms Jones that they share my belief that Nazism is odious and contemptible,” he said at the time.

Moira Deeming, left, Kellie-Jay Keen, Katherine Deves and Angela Jones. Picture: YouTube

In his public apology Mr Pesutto said “access to single-sex spaces, services and sport warrant meaningful public discussion”.

While the confidential settlements did not involve any financial compensation, Mr Pesutto paid some of Ms Keen and Ms Jones’ legal costs.

If Ms Jones decides to run, it will put the entire saga front and centre of Mr Pesutto’s entire election campaign.

At the same time, a messy public legal challenge against the $1.55m loaned to him by the Liberal Party’s fundraising arm, Vapold, is also expected to go to trial in March.

Six members of the party’s state executive are challenging the validity of the loan which was paid to Mr Pesutto to help him cover his debt to Mrs Deeming and avoid bankruptcy.

Originally published as John Pesutto could face shock election challenge from defamation rival Angela Jones