Court hears John Pesutto defamed ousted Liberal MP Moira Deeming for his own ‘political expediency’

Ousted Liberal MP Moira Deeming’s lawyer has told a court in her high-profile defamation trial against Victorian party leader, John Pesutto, he gave “dishonest evidence” over the circulation of a dossier to journalists.

Moira Deeming arrives at the Federal Court of Australia. Picture: Diego Fedele

Opposition Leader John Pesutto defamed ousted Liberal MP Moira Deeming for his own “political expediency” and failed to expeditiously disclose a related secret party room tape due to his “consciousness of guilt”, a court has been told.

The high-stakes defamation trial between the party leader and his former colleague will wrap up this week, with closing summaries heard in the Federal Court on Tuesday.

Mrs Deeming is suing Mr Pesutto over claims he painted her as a Nazi sympathiser after a women’s rights rally she organised was gatecrashed by white supremacist on the steps of parliament in March 2023.

Mrs Deeming’s barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC on Tuesday tore down the defences relied upon by Mr Pesutto, whose leadership came under threat amid the trial.

Moira Deeming’s lawyer says she was defamed for “political expediency. Picture: Diego Fedele

Ms Chrysanthou told the court Mr Pesutto gave “dishonest evidence” over the circulation of a dossier to hundreds of journalists outlining his reasons for expelling Mrs Deeming from the Liberal Party.

She rejected the Liberal leader’s claim the release was in the public interest.

“He truly believed it was a matter of political expediency, his own political expediency to publish that material,” she said.

“His credibility as a politician, his personal interest as a politician is not in the public interest.”

In his defence document, Mr Pesutto argued that he “repeatedly and unequivocally acknowledged publicly that he does not believe Deeming to be a neo-Nazi, a white supremacist, or anything of similar substance or effect”.

However Ms Chrysanthou said a reasonable person would have inferred she was based on the material his office published and interviews Mr Pesutto took part in following the rally.

“Ultimately if a person takes very little care, publishes very serious defamatory allegations about a person they did not believe to be true cannot succeed on (the public interest) defence,” she told the court.

At the opening of the three-week trial, it was revealed Mrs Deeming’s lawyers were given only days’ notice of a secret 70-minute tape of a Liberal leadership meeting recorded by David Southwick MP just 24 hours after the rally attended by Mrs Deeming.

Victorian Liberal Leader John Pesutto leaving Federal court during his defamation battle with Moira Deeming. Picture: David Geraghty

Ms Chrysanthou told the court it was Mr Pesutto’s “consciousness of guilt” which drove him not to disclose it in his affidavit.

“He knew he had been lying about what happened in that meeting for a year,” the barrister said.

“It is incomprehensible how Mr Southwick and Mr Pesutto acted in relation to that tape.”

“No honest witness would behave in the way they behaved. If you thought you were telling the truth, you would be rushing to get that tape and hand it over in litigation.

Mr Pesutto moved to expel Mrs Deeming from the parliamentary party days after the rally – with the expulsion taking effect several weeks later.

Mr Pesutto’s barrister Dr Matthew Collins, KC, is yet to make his closing submissions.

They will continue Wednesday, with Justice David O’Callaghan expected to deliver his findings in December.