Janet Albrechtsen in her column on Wednesday concluded, under the headline “Deeming-Pesutto farce is all about saving Jeff Kennett”, that the reason for the Liberal Party lending John Pesutto money to pay his legal costs was to save me – Jeff Kennett.
Nothing could be further from the truth. I do not want or need saving!
While I cannot speak for the other people who originally offered and gave Pesutto support for the case he was involved in, brought by Moira Deeming, her threats to sue me to recover her legal costs if Pesutto defaults is absolutely no cause of concern to me.
My support for Pesutto was perhaps old-fashioned, but I consider him to have been acting in his role of leader of the Liberal Party when he made comments that have since been decided by the court to have been defamatory.
I accept the findings of the court. My support was, and is, one of principle. Principles still matter to me even in 2025.
Pesutto was at the time leader of the Victorian parliamentary party, an officer of, in this case, the Liberal Party. When performing his duties he was found to have made a mistake; in fact, it was determined that he defamed Deeming.
His defence and any costs arising from the case should have been borne, in my opinion, by the organisation of which he is part, as an officer of the Liberal Party – in the same way so many journalists when queried about the accuracy of their work, when that leads to legal proceedings, have their costs borne by their employer.
For a minister of the crown the costs of their legal actions are invariably borne by the public.
In Victoria over the past 11 years there have been several such cases. The red shirts affair in 2014; the inquiry into the hotel quarantine debacle, when not only did more than 800 Victorians lose their lives but all ministers appearing before the inquiry had a failure of memory.
I certainly am not suggesting that the public should pick up Pesutto’s costs, but the Liberal Party should.
My second reason for the Liberal Party doing so is, as it has been proven, settling the case quickly was in the party’s best interests; to resolve and put this matter behind them in order to deliver on their primary function, which is to be an effective opposition.
There are a number of members who disagree with me on both issues, one of principle, the other the desirability to put the matter behind us.
But now the case has been settled, the party is in a position to lend, not give, Pesutto the funds to meet his legal responsibility.
Those who seek to bankrupt him and his family are wrong and it is simply not the Liberal way. We all make mistakes.
Finally, the article on Wednesday was based on comments by unnamed sources. It is increasingly the way of journalism today.
Too often journalists are being used by some to create falsehoods, discredit or simply push their own agenda under the increasingly used phrase “speaking anonymously”.
I am always happy to be quoted and would have freely done so had Janet seen fit to ring me, but that clearly did not suit her purpose.
There is no doubt a campaign being run by some to destroy Pesutto, his family and in doing so the Victorian Liberal Party.
Worse, those members have lost sight of what should be their primary purpose, which is to be in a condition to compete at the next election. I do not need or want to “be saved”, but I am very keen to do what I can to save Victoria from the condition in which it finds itself.
Jeff Kennett was premier of Victoria from 1992 to 1999, served two stints as Hawthorn Football Club president and was founding chairman of Beyond Blue.
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