Liberals fight over funding John Pesutto’s defamation loss

The Victorian Liberals are fighting over who should fund state leader John Pesutto’s huge defamation payout to Moira Deeming.

Moira Deeming at Parliament House after her defamation victory over Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto. Picture: NewsWire/Ian Currie

An arm-wrestle is under way in the Victorian Liberal Party over ­financial support for embattled leader John Pesutto and whether he should receive backing after his straight sets loss in the Federal Court to ousted MP Moira ­Deeming.

The party hierarchy has hardened its resolve against assistance after it emerged Mr Pesutto rejected a $99,000, plus costs, settlement but then went on to face a $300,000 payment to Mrs Deeming and a soaring costs bill that is yet to be determined.

Pesutto backers want him to be spared bankruptcy and maintain the party should still stump up a substantial amount of money to help protect his leadership and reputation.

Mr Pesutto said on Wednesday he did not expect the party to fund his costs, which Liberal elders fear could ultimately cost him millions, depending on the court’s final deliberations.

There are two options for the party to help fund Mr Pesutto.

First, via the Victorian organisation’s well-stocked finances and then potentially the wealthy Cormack Foundation, although it has traditionally been tight with any expenditure, especially unrelated to elections.

The Victorian Liberals have been under fundraising pressure because of the drawn-out Pesutto-Deeming battle, two looming state by-elections and a federal campaign.

Mr Pesutto said he and his wife Betty were funding the legal costs.

“My wife and I are obviously funding that, but we will, and have, drawn on support for people who want to see a change in Victoria and better government in Victoria,” Mr Pesutto said.

“Full disclosure has always been fulfilled in my case and that will continue to be the case. “There will be people who want to support Betty and I, and we’ll ­accept that in the way we have, and we’ll disclose it fully in compliance with requirements.”

Asked if he expected the party to contribute to his defamation bill, Mr Pesutto said: “No.’’

Mr Pesutto faces a split party-room meeting on Friday where it will be debated whether to return Mrs Deeming to the inner sanctum. Mr Pesutto opposes Mrs Deeming’s return but a significant slice of the partyroom is against him on the issue, with 28 MPs set to vote on Friday morning.

Even if Mr Pesutto’s view is backed by a majority of MPs, it is odds-on that the battle between the two will continue, with Deeming supporters wanting the introduction of a proper internal complaints system to resolve any future crises. Mrs Deeming’s ­opponents have been trying to discredit her by criticising her voting record.

Sources said that there were only two Labor bills that the Coalition voted against where she voted with Labor in 19 months.

This was after Mr Pesutto led the push to have her removed from the parliamentary Liberal Party after the fallout over a women’s rights rally she attended in 2023 that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.

Mrs Deeming, an independent Liberal MP since her expulsion from the partyroom last year, sued Mr Pesutto over allegations that he falsely portrayed her as a Nazi sympathiser after she helped organise and attended the Let Women Speak rally.

The court found Mr Pesutto defamed Mrs Deeming in five media appearances and in a document supporting her expulsion from the parliamentary party.

Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett, who has been backing Mr Pesutto, said he remained ­supportive of the incumbent and he believed he had grown in ­leadership stature during the controversy.

“I salute the uniform, the fact he hasn’t fallen,’’ he said.

“He has been remarkably ­dignified and resilient. For that reason I am absolutely supporting him.’’