J.K. Rowling congratulates Deeming as Pesutto says he wants to work with Groth
By Roy Ward
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has congratulated Victorian politician Moira Deeming for winning her defamation case against Opposition Leader John Pesutto last week.
Rowling posted a message about Deeming to her more than 14 million X followers after Pesutto was ordered in the Federal Court to pay Deeming $300,000 for damage to her reputation, in a judgment that found he had defamed her on five occasions after she helped organise the Let Women Speak rally in March 2023.
Moira Deeming arriving at the Federal Court in October.Credit: Joe Armao
The rally was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis and Deeming alleged she had been “tarred with the Nazi brush” as part of Pesutto’s “campaign” to expel her from the parliamentary Liberal Party, her barrister, Sue Chrysanthou, SC, told the court.
Rowling has been a supporter of Deeming’s since the rally. They are both outspoken supporters of women’s “sex-based” rights.
“The ‘right side of history’ is racking up a hell of a lot of losses recently, isn’t it?” Rowling wrote.
“Congratulations Moira Deeming.”
Pesutto’s leadership future remains in doubt following the finding and the subsequent resignation from the shadow frontbench of member for Nepean Sam Groth on Friday.
“I was sorry to see Sam make that decision. I have a lot of time for Sam,” Pesutto said on Sunday.
“We’ve spoken a couple of times over recent days, including this morning ... I have enormous time for Sam. I want to continue to work with him closely as a colleague, and I want him to remain in the parliament, and continue to be a fantastic member for Nepean.”
Pesutto said he had not pressed Groth beyond the statement he issued and that while they took a different view he had enormous respect for the first-term MP.
Meanwhile, ex-NSW Liberal candidate turned South Yarra resident Rachel Westaway will run as the Liberal candidate for the state seat of Prahran in the byelection triggered when Greens MP Sam Hibbins, who snared the seat in 2014, resigned from parliament.
Westaway, a local professional and mother-of-three, was picked by her party colleagues to run in the February byelection at a party meeting on Sunday.
“The people of Prahran, South Yarra, Windsor and St Kilda East are sick of the rising cost-of-living issues facing them, and the violent crime that impacts our entire community,” Westaway said.
She will be running against the Greens’ Angelica Di Camillo, an environmental engineer, and independent candidate, and ex-Labor MP Tony Lupton.
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