John Pesutto refused to attend a Liberal Party dinner after being told he couldn’t make speech

John Pesutto has been accused of snubbing multicultural Victorians after refusing to attend a dinner following a spat with his federal leader Peter Dutton.

John Pesutto refused to attend a Liberal Party multicultural dinner after being told by Peter Dutton he wouldn’t be allowed to make a speech. Picture: David Crosling

State Opposition Leader John Pesutto has been accused of snubbing multicultural Victorians over a spat with his federal Liberal leader Peter Dutton.

In a move that stunned sections of the party and some of his own MPs, Mr Pesutto, who is also the opposition’s Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs, on Tuesday refused to attend a Liberal Party multicultural dinner after being told he wouldn’t be allowed to make a speech.

The Herald Sun has confirmed Mr Pesutto was scheduled to attend but pulled out of the event.

Other members of his leadership team including deputy leader David Southwick, Georgie Crozier and Evan Mulholland all attended the dinner as did some other MPs.

An Opposition spokesperson said: “Mr Pesutto did not attend a Liberal Party event last night after being informed it was a federal function.”

The $80-a-head gala dinner, at the Springvale Town Hall, was organised by the Victorian division of the Liberal Party.

The event was held at the Springvale Town hall. File photo.

On Wednesday, Mr Pesutto said he couldn’t discuss his non attendance as it was an “internal Liberal Party matter”.

“I do an enormous number of multicultural functions and events,” he said.

Mr Pesutto conceded that he did not see Mr Dutton while he was in Melbourne and hadn’t spoken to him for weeks.

Mr Dutton was listed as the event’s guest of honour.

“John seemed to be missing from the big multicultural dinner last night,” one source said.

“Bit awkward as the shadow minister for multicultural affairs.”

Mr Pesutto was instead spotted at the soccer, joining 6,600 other fans to see South Melbourne claim an Australia Cup victory over Preston Lions in Reservoir.

Peter Dutton was the guest of honour at the multicultural dinner.

Attendees at the gala dinner said that during an address to the crowd Mr Dutton praised former leader Matthew Guy, but made no mention of Mr Pesutto.

Liberal sources said Mr Dutton had been privately scathing about Mr Pesutto’s handling of internal party matters.

Sources said serious tensions first surfaced between the pair after Mr Pesutto launched a campaign to expel Moira Deeming on the eve of the critical Aston federal by-election last year.

They said efforts to have Mr Pesutto hold off on moving the expulsion motion were ignored.

It prompted a 14-month legal saga that critics say has distracted Mr Pesutto from his job and damaged the Liberal Party’s brand.

Mr Dutton praised former leader Matthew Guy at the dinner but didn’t mention Mr Pesutto. Picture: Tracey Nearmy

Last week Mr Pesutto privately settled two of three defamation cases that resulted from the expulsion motion.

As part of the settlement Mr Pesutto issued a lengthy public apology to activists Kellie-Jay Keen and Angela Jones.

In it he said “access to single-sex spaces, services and sport warrant meaningful public discussion”, a statement that threatened to put him at odds with sections of the party.

Liberal Party sources said pressure was now increasing for Mr Pesutto to reach an out-of-court settlement with Mrs Deeming before a scheduled September trial.

Polling released on Wednesday showed the Liberal Party’s primary vote had shot ahead of Labor’s.

Manager of Opposition business, James Newbury, said the poll showed Victorians had lost faith in the government.

“Labor’s vote collapse proves that people don’t trust Jacinta Allan, after her broken promises and waste of taxpayers money, and that the state Labor Government has the wrong priorities,” he said.

“Only the Liberal Party will lower taxes, cut your costs, and make life easier.”

But sources close to Mr Dutton said he felt the party had failed to capitalise on the drop in support for Labor.