By Rachel Eddie and Annika Smethurst
Ousted Liberal Moira Deeming has abandoned parts of her defamation suit against her former leader John Pesutto, who on his first day of cross-examination defended a dossier compiled to justify her expulsion that the court heard was akin to a document prepared by a child.
In a tense day in the Federal Court, Pesutto’s barrister Matthew Collins, KC, on Tuesday agreed that Deeming’s reputation was damaged in March 2023 – but said this was by her actions, not his client’s.
Moira Deeming arriving at court earlier this morning.Credit: Simon Schluter
Collins showed the court examples of Deeming being bombarded in the 24 hours after the Let Women Speak rally she helped organise. He produced a series of social media posts urging the opposition leader to take action – before Pesutto had said anything about her publicly.
“None of it had anything to do with Mr Pesutto, none of it,” Collins told the court.
Neo-Nazis were among several groups of protesters that arrived at the steps of the Victorian parliament on the day of the Let Women Speak rally on March 18, 2023.
The court also heard Deeming was dropping three of 23 imputations, including one that related to whether Pesutto implied she was a white supremacist.
The case threatens to destabilise the state Liberal Party after the court heard former leader Matthew Guy offered to help expel Deeming on the night of the rally.
“Just letting you know that if you want an expulsion motion moved in [sic] Deeming, and no one else will do it, I will,” Guy said in a text message.
In cross-examination, Deeming’s barrister Sue Chrysanthou, SC, put to Pesutto that his personal views did not dictate the Liberal Party.
She highlighted swings he had endured in his seat of Hawthorn and his “one vote” victory to win the party leadership.
“So what?” Pesutto snapped back.
John Pesutto (centre), Dr Matt Collins (right) and Pesutto’s wife, Betty, arriving at the Federal Court earlier this morning.Credit: Simon Schluter
Chrysanthou also raised comments he had made about so-called African gangs in 2018, which she said prompted criticism from opponents who accused him of racism.
She pressed whether brand damage was a reasonable basis to expel someone from the Liberal party room.
“Are you familiar with the constitution of the Liberal Party?” she asked.
Chrysanthou also said the dossier used to justify Deeming’s expulsion was akin to “a document prepared by an eight-year-old” and asked Pesutto whether he had observed procedural fairness in seeking to oust her.
Pesutto told the court he had sought to be fair, saying she had an opportunity to respond, but disagreed that he needed to abide by a legal definition of procedural fairness.
“I wasn’t [doing this as] a lawyer. I was the leader of the opposition, the alternative premier, there were many other considerations,” Pesutto said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Collins reminded the court that it was not presiding over a wrongful dismissal.
“It’s a defamation case,” he said.
Collins said politics was a “brutal game” and that a party hoping to form government had to attract votes from mainstream Victorians.
He argued that it was in the public interest for Pesutto to explain to Victorians why he was seeking to expel Deeming based on information that was already in the public domain.
Pesutto moved to expel Deeming after the rally, but she was instead suspended for nine months in a last-minute compromise. She was ultimately expelled weeks later after she threatened to bring in lawyers.
Deeming alleges Pesutto defamed her as a Nazi sympathiser, which he rejects.
She has denounced Nazism and previously told the court she was horrified by the masked men in black saluting at the rally. Collins has sought to portray Deeming as slow to respond to the seriousness of what occurred and reckless for failing to foresee the risks.
Pesutto also told the court on Tuesday he had not challenged deputy Liberal leader David Southwick over his secret 70-minute recording of a key meeting on March 19, 2023, between Deeming and party leaders.
He said he first learned of the recording – which was played to the court last week – late last year or early this year.
Pesutto did not raise it with his lawyers until this month, telling the court he had reflected on it while preparing for the trial.
He told the court he had not tried to get a copy earlier because it would have become discoverable, but rejected suggestions that was because it would contradict his version of events.
“I think the tape shows quite the contrary,” Pesutto told the court in a tense exchange.
He said he was surprised to learn the recording existed but that he didn’t find it shocking, nor did he find it shocking that his deputy hadn’t told him about it.
“Did you ask him, ‘Well, what else have you recorded, David?’” Chrysanthou pressed, repeatedly questioning whether he was being honest with the court.
Pesutto will face a second day of cross-examination on Wednesday.
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