‘I’ll go after Libs for every cent’, says Moira Deeming’s bankroller

Property developer Hilton Grugeon says he will pay whatever it takes to pursue John Pesutto’s donors, should the former Victorian Liberal leader be unable to pay his $2.3m costs bill.

Hilton Grugeon AM. AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts.

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The NSW property developer who bankrolled Moira Deeming’s defamation victory says he will pay whatever it takes to pursue John Pesutto’s donors – including three former Victorian premiers – should the former Victorian Liberal leader be unable to pay his $2.3m costs bill.

Hilton Grugeon told The Australian on Friday he decided to provide Mrs Deeming with the loan after a “senior member in the Liberal Party” sought his ­assistance and said the prospective legal action against Mr Pesutto’s supporters was about the principle, rather than the money.

“They supported somebody who was harassing, bullying … psychologically abusing a woman … all she did was (go) to a rally to speak in favour of what she believed,” Mr Grugeon said.

“One of them, I’ve told to his face that I will be paying whatever it takes for you to be brought to book for having contributed money to Pesutto when he was behaving like that.”

The Australian revealed this week that a letter from Mrs Deeming’s lawyers had flagged seeking non-party costs orders against those who donated to Mr Pesutto’s failed defence should the former leader be unable to pay and declared bankrupt.

Moira Deeming. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Former Victorian Liberal Party leader John Pesutto. Picture: David Crosling

Those named as potential targets of legal action to recoup the costs included former Victorian Liberal premiers Jeff Kennett, Ted Baillieu and Denis Napthine, as well as current frontbenchers Georgie Crozier and David Southwick.

Mr Grugeon, who describes himself as a “supporter of good people in politics”, said the “senior member in the Liberal Party” approached one of his business colleagues, asking if Mr Grugeon could assist Mrs Deeming.

“I lent Moira whatever it took, and her solicitor had a blank cheque,” he said “You couldn’t not help. Good men were doing nothing.”

Mr Grugeon criticised members of the federal and state party who he said stood by and failed to intervene in what he said was ­“unbelievable” mistreatment of Mrs Deeming, who had been ­“advancing” and “standing up for Liberal values” when she attended the Let Women Speak rally.

“Poor old Bob Menzies would be rolling in his grave if he knew what was going on – it’s not a broad church anymore,” Mr Grugeon said of the Liberals.

He said the amount of money Mr Pesutto’s donors had given him was irrelevant.

“The blank check extends to tracking them (Mr Pesutto’s donors) all down and having them face the court,” he said. “If you gave one cent, you’re liable.”

The Federal Court ordered Mr Pesutto to pay $315,000 in damages to Mrs Deeming and more than $2.3m to cover her legal costs after it found Mr Pesutto defamed Mrs Deeming by falsely implying she associated with neo-Nazis after they gatecrashed a Let Women Speak rally she attended.

While Mr Pesutto has already paid Mrs Deeming the damages, he faces bankruptcy and being forced out of the Victorian parliament, which would trigger a by-election in his seat of Hawthorn, should he be unable to stump up the $2.3m.

Mrs Deeming’s solicitors were on Friday expected to issue Mr Pesutto with a bankruptcy notice that would give him 21 days for compliance.

Mr Pesutto’s reaplcement as Victorian Liberal leader, Brad Battin, admitted there were ­tensions within the party but said his goal was to head into next year’s election with all members of his team.

“I think it’s pretty obvious we have some tensions in the party at the moment, and I’m continuing to work through that,” he said.

Mr Battin did not answer questions as to whether he thought Mr Pesutto would find the funds to discharge his obligations to Mrs Deeming. “There’s a court process in relation to that, so I’ll stay out of the court process,” he said.

A GoFundMe page set up by Mr Pesutto’s supporters had by Friday afternoon raised more than $206,000.

Mr Kennett told The Australian on Wednesday that he was not concerned by the threat from Mrs Deeming’s lawyers to recover court-ordered costs, but said the Victorian Liberal Party was facing an “extraordinary implosion” over the internal crisis engulfing the opposition. “I have no worries about it all because my army training taught me you salute the uniform and support the leader, so when John (Pesutto) was under pressure, very early I made a token donation as a public gesture of supporting the leader,” Mr Kennett said. “After that I had no idea or involvement in the conduct of the court case. It was a token ­donation.”