Despite John Pesutto’s cynical attack on Moira Deeming, this bloke still has backers

Former Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto was found to have defamed Liberal MP and women’s rights activist Moira Deeming by falsely linking her with neo-Nazis, but amazingly, he still has supporters who want to pay his court costs.

John Pesutto’s failure to defend not only his colleague Moira Deeming, but the rights of women has torn his reputation into tatters.

When Liberal Party MP Moira Deeming stood on the Victorian steps of Parliament House in March 2023, she did so with one goal in mind – to advocate for the rights of women.

Taking to the microphone, she spoke on behalf of her friend, who was too afraid to attend because of the intrusion of trans activist protesters who also came to the event.

The rally, entitled Let Her Speak, argued for the protection of “female only crisis centres, changing rooms, sports, prisons and groups”.

To those operating within the rational stratosphere of reckoning, these are hardly controversial points.

But given that ideologues have hijacked the narrative on biological sex, we currently find ourselves in unprecedented territory.

Sections of the Australian media fell over themselves to label it an “anti-trans” rally because speaking up for the rights of women can apparently only be perceived as an attack on the rights of others.

So much for the #MeToo movement and encouraging women to “speak their truth”, right?

And if this isn’t enough, try getting your head around the fact that anyone who dares to declare such utterances in public are immediately linked to Nazism and fascism.

This is precisely what former Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto did to his colleague Deeming after a group of revolting neo-Nazis chose to gatecrash the rally on that ill-fated day more than two years ago.

Speaking later to media, Pesutto falsely claimed the rally was “organised by people who have known and established links with people who have Nazi sympathies, promote white supremacist views and ethno-fascist views”.

A relieved Moira Deeming after being accepted back into the Liberal Party following her successful court case. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

It was one of the more spectacular overreaches by a political leader. Pesutto’s failure to defend not only his colleague, but the rights of women has torn his reputation into tatters. At least, that’s what it should have done.

After Deeming was despicably expelled from her parliamentary partyroom, and with no apology forthcoming for the wrongful accusations made by Pesutto, she was left with no choice but to clear her name in the courts.

Last December, the Federal Court ordered Pesutto pay Deeming $315,000 in damages for the repeated and false implications that she was associated with neo-Nazis.

He was also ordered to pay $2.309m to cover her legal costs.

From Deeming’s perspective, she didn’t want this. This much was revealed after judgment, where she offered early in the proceedings to accept a settlement for $99,000 without an apology.

For reasons only Pesutto will know, he declined to accept Deeming’s offer and chose to shepherd his arrogant position all the way to the Federal Court despite never securing the funding necessary to cover the costs.

That he should be confronted by bankruptcy and being disqualified from being a member of parliament is just desserts in my books.

But not according to some.

In the past week, Pesutto has embarked on a “poor me” media blitz.

It’s been rather comical, particularly when you consider that Deeming was also staring at economic ruin with legal costs that had already amounted to “more than the combined value of everything we owned in the entire world”.

I find it utterly astounding that anyone – most specifically, Pesutto’s Liberal Party colleagues – could muster any sympathy for him.

Chief among them is former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett, who financially contributed to Pesutto’s legal fees in the defamation trial.

Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett shas been a vocal supporter of Mr Pesutto. Picture: Glenn Hunt / The Australian

Speaking to the anti-women’s rights mob over at the ABC, Kennett referred to the current state of the Liberal partyroom as a “cesspool” and failed to acknowledge that by virtue of his position, he has also contributed to its moral murkiness and reputational damage.

It also prompts the question – is this about saving Pesutto or the marginal seat of Hawthorn for the Liberal Party faithful?

Pesutto has by May 30 to cobble together his legal payment funds, and with the Victorian Liberal Party and their wealthy backers the Cormack Foundation reportedly making it clear that they would not intervene financially, it’s been left to the likes of donors such as Simon Holmes a Court to rescue him. Seriously.

A $500 donation has been made in Mr Holmes a Court’s name to Pesutto’s GoFundMe page. The Climate 200 founder confirmed to Nine newspapers that the donation was in fact legitimate.

There’s even a couple of Labor supporters pitching in their pennies!

“I’m a Labor voter and probably always will be. But the situation Pesutto finds himself in is simply wrong. I’m outraged at judgment,” wrote one fan.

Now for a piece of judgment-free advice I am happy to lend – you made your bed, now lie in it.