Former Liberal MP Matthew Bach’s evidence ‘relevant’ to Deeming- Pesutto defamation trial
Moira Deeming’s lawyer has questioned why Matthew Bach can jet off to China for a 10-day marketing trip but not travel to Melbourne to help former political ally John Pesutto.
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Barrister Sue Chrysanthou has questioned why former Liberal MP turned teacher Matthew Bach can jet off to China for 10 days but not fly to Melbourne to give evidence in her client Moira Deeming’s defamation battle against John Pesutto.
Matthew Collins KC, acting for the Victorian opposition leader, told the Federal Court on Monday that there would be inconveniences to Mr Bach, who quit politics last year to move to the UK, if he is called upon to take the stand in person due to his professional and personal responsibilities.
He said that Mr Bach’s evidence would not be central to the defamation trial but relevant as it would provide insight into the March 19 meeting between the Liberal Party leadership and Ms Deeming.
Federal Court judge David O’Callaghan put to the defence that Mr Bach would be going on a 10-day trip to Shanghai where he would also be away from his family and day-to-day responsibilities.
“There are flights from Shanghai to Melbourne on some days … he could tack on a trip to Melbourne,” Mr O’Callaghan said.
Ms Chrysanthou, appearing for Ms Deeming, asked the judge to refuse the request and said her client and the cross-examiner would be at a disadvantage if Mr Bach appeared remotely.
“Giving evidence in the comfort of an office … is different than having to walk into a courtroom and sit before the judge regarding the solemnity of the occasion and the seriousness,” she argued.
“If he told his employer he may have to give evidence in September then Mr Bach’s employer might have sent some other person to China for 10 days to convince Chinese families to send their children to a school in England and only be inconvenienced by a 5-day trip to Melbourne.”
The judge set aside his decision on the request, with his reasons to be published at a later date.
Details of a meeting in March between Mr Pesutto and other senior members of the Victorian Liberal Party including David Southwick, Georgie Crozier, Matthew Bach and the state opposition leader’s former chief of staff Rodrigo Pintos-Lopez and Ms Deeming also emerged at the administrative hearing.
The Liberal MPs are among the witnesses Mr Pesutto’s legal team will call on to give evidence.
Mr Collins told the court that in the meeting, Ms Deeming said she felt ambushed, attacked and bullied but that the Liberal MPs, including Mr Pesutto’s former ally Mr Bach, gave a different account.
He said that Mr Bach gave evidence that the leadership team did not attack Ms Deeming on her views and that he was “soft and gentle”.
Pesutto’s lawyer also said that Ms Crozier claimed that nothing was done to ambush the expelled independent Liberal MP and that Mr Pintos-Lopez gave evidence the meeting was “professional and measured”.
Ms Chrysanthou said that Mr Pesutto’s witnesses all making similar accounts demonstrates that their cross examination will be “even more important”.
“There’s said to be a lot of information exchanged on the March 19 meeting which is key to what Mr Pesutto went on to publish that day and subsequent days,” the defamation lawyer said.
Ms Deeming is suing Mr Pesutto over his efforts to expel her from the Liberal Party room, with her case relying on media releases, press conferences and interviews her former boss gave following a Let Women Speak rally in March last year.
The defamation trial will begin on September 16.
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