Moira Deeming declares debt to developer previously found to have evaded donation laws

Ousted Victorian Liberal Moira Deeming has taken out a loan from a NSW property developer who was found to have evaded that state’s political donation laws in a 2016 corruption commission investigation.

Deeming, who is preparing for a weeks-long defamation trial she has launched against Opposition Leader John Pesutto, declared the personal debt to Hilton Grugeon in her updated register of interests tabled in parliament last week.

Moira Deeming has taken out a loan from a NSW property developer.Credit: Joe Armao

Deeming and Pesutto have each declared personal donations from supporters to help bankroll the costly defamation trial, due to begin this month.

In her register of interests updated last week, covering February until the end of June, Deeming also declared the new debt to Grugeon, a Hunter Valley property developer. MPs do not need to specify how much they have been given.

The Age does not suggest Deeming or Grugeon has breached any rules through the loan.

Grugeon was interviewed by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption as part of its Operation Spicer investigation, which found in 2016 that he had intended to evade the state’s donation laws in the lead up to the 2011 NSW election.

The commission said he bought a painting of a boat shed from Liberal candidate Andrew Cornwell for $10,120, much more than it was worth. He was also found to have given a banned $10,000 donation to candidate Tim Owen’s election campaign.

Grugeon, a member of the Order of Australia, was not found to have acted corruptly.

He said on Sunday that he had not met Deeming but was moved to help her, alleging she was driven out of the Victorian Liberal Party with abuse and misogyny. He referenced the story of the Good Samaritan and said those with the means to help people in need should do so.

“All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing,” Grugeon said. “If you can [help] and you don’t, to me, that seems wrong.”

Deeming remains an independent MP in Victoria’s upper house after she was expelled from the parliamentary Liberal Party in May last year.

She alleges Pesutto defamed her as a Nazi sympathiser for her role in a Let Women Speak rally that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis last year. Pesutto is fighting the claim.

Deeming had an early win in the case last month after the Federal Court ruled a witness for Pesutto, former Liberal MP Matt Bach, would have to fly to Melbourne from his new home in the UK rather than give evidence by video. Pesutto was ordered to pay Deeming’s costs over this matter.

Deeming declined to comment on Sunday because of the upcoming defamation trial.

She also declared on the register of interests that she received personal donations from prominent Voice referendum No campaigner Nyunggai Warren Mundine and former Liberal Party candidate Peter Killin. Grugeon has previously also made a personal donation to her defamation fighting fund.

Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto.Credit: Arsineh Houspian

Pesutto declared a further donation from former premier Ted Baillieu, among others. He has previously declared all the former Liberal premiers as his financial backers, as well as private companies and property developer Jason Sau Lee Yeap.

This is allowed under Victoria’s rules. Loans and personal gifts do not fall under the $4530 donation cap, as long as they are not used for elections, but must be declared on the register if they are larger than $2000.

Integrity experts have previously called for greater transparency around personal gifts.

NSW, Queensland and the ACT have all banned donations from property developers.

The Greens had agitated for donations from developers and the gambling industry to be banned in a submission to an independent review of the state’s election rules. The panel, chaired by former deputy electoral commissioner Elizabeth Williams, said it was unnecessary because of Victoria’s tight cap on donations and transparency requirements.

In its Operation Sandon report, Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission recommended examining whether donations from “high-risk” sectors such as property developers should be banned.

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