Deeming vows to sue Liberal leader Pesutto for defamation after mediation fails

Exiled Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming says the “world will be horrified” to learn what she has been through as she vowed to push ahead with legal action against Opposition Leader John Pesutto after mediation talks broke down on the weekend.

The first-term MP said she would lodge defamation proceedings against the state’s Liberal leader, kicking off an 18-month legal battle that force MPs and opposition staff to testify and expose private emails and text messages relevant to her claims.

Moira Deeming is a crossbench MP after being ejected from the parliamentary Liberal Party.Credit: Joe Armao

Deeming, who was dumped from the parliamentary Liberal Party in May after a 19-11 vote from her colleagues, released a statement on Monday, saying she was “left with no option” but to lodge a defamation case against Pesutto.

“I made an offer on Wednesday and met with Mr Pesutto and Victorian Liberal Party state president, Mr Phil Davies yesterday [Sunday] afternoon. Unfortunately, the mediation failed,” Deeming said.

“It is therefore with great regret as a current Liberal Party member that [I] am now left with no option but to lodge my defamation case against Mr Pesutto in court.”

On Monday, Deeming refused to provide details of the mediation talks, but told The Age she was “extraordinarily disappointed” that her requests were refused.

“Now the Liberal Party brand is going to be brought into disrepute because when the actions taken against me are finally revealed in court, the whole world will be horrified about what has happened to me, the other innocent women and all of our families,” she said.

Four sources familiar with the negotiations confirmed to The Age that the 25-minute meeting with Pesutto, Deeming and Liberal Party president Phil Davis ended over Pesutto’s refusal to help reverse Deeming’s expulsion from the parliamentary team, despite the pair making some progress on a draft statement.

In order for Deeming to return to the party room, Pesutto would need to present another motion to Liberal MPs, which would require support of the majority of the party room. Sources said he refused to bring the motion and told Deeming he did not think it would be backed by a majority of MPs.

In her statement, Deeming said the saga had done “enormous harm” to her family “personally, financially and reputationally”. On her personal website, which is registered to her family’s super fund, Deeming is seeking donations from supporters “to provide a gift to her family”, not as a donation to a political campaign.

Moira Deeming (left) and Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull at the Let Women Speak rally in March.Credit: Twitter

One senior Liberal source, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the dispute, claimed Deeming was also seeking $1 million from the opposition leader – a claim she denies.

Late on Monday, Pesutto released a statement to address “factual inaccuracies” in Deeming’s statement. He said her suspension and subsequent expulsion were never about her views on women’s issues and denied calling her a “neo-Nazi or sympathiser”.

“The issues in this matter have never concerned freedom of speech. The issue has always been whether Mrs Deeming called out or distanced herself from neo-Nazi protesters and references when asked to do so by senior Liberals,” he said in the statement.

“I have genuinely tried to reach a mutually acceptable outcome.

“I will vigorously defend the Liberal Party and myself in any proceedings and will not be asking the Party to cover any legal fees.”

In March, Pesutto succeeded in suspending the first-term MP from the Liberal party room after she spoke at the Let Women Speak rally, which was organised by British anti-trans rights campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull and gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.

Pesutto claimed Deeming had an association with organisers and speakers “who have shared platforms with viewpoints with people who promote Nazi views or sympathies”. He also criticised the upper house MP for staying at the rally “when the Nazis arrived” and celebrating with organisers, instead of dissociating from them.

Pesutto then brought the motion to remove Deeming from the parliamentary team for “organising, promoting and attending” the Let Women Speak protest, but the party room agreed to a compromise under which she was suspended for nine months, costing her the position of upper house whip and the $20,000 pay rise that went with it.

Weeks later, the Western Metropolitan Region MP was expelled from the party room after she told the leadership team she intended to sue for defamation and launch legal proceedings to challenge her nine-month suspension.

After her expulsion, she issued two defamation concerns notices that allege Pesutto compared her to a Nazi sympathiser – a claim he rejects.

In a statement on Monday, Deeming said the rally was attended by “ordinary people from across the political spectrum” and “was also gatecrashed by groups of masked neo-Nazi sympathisers and radical activists”.

“I did not know those neo-Nazis and did not arrange for them to gatecrash our event,” she said.

“All I have ever wanted from Mr Pesutto was a full and official exoneration so that my children don’t have to live under this ‘Nazi bigot slur’, restoration of my financial position, and my rightful return to the party room as an elected Liberal MP,” Deeming said.

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