Victoria’s opposition leader, John Pesutto, revealed the names of some Liberal MPs who had provided evidence in the defamation case brought against him to Jeff Kennett , with the former Liberal premier subsequently declaring they would be “dealt with”, the federal court has heard.
The revelation came as Pesutto faced a second day of cross-examination in a defamation case brought by ousted Liberal MP Moira Deeming, who is suing the state Liberal leader for allegedly falsely portraying her as a Nazi sympathiser after she spoke at a 2023 “Let Women Speak” rally in Melbourne, which was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis. Pesutto has rejected the allegation.
During cross-examination on Wednesday morning, Deeming’s lawyer, Sue Chrystanthou SC, asked Pesutto if he had told Kennett the names of Liberal MPs who had prepared affidavits in the defamation proceedings
“I think I told him some,” Pesutto replied.
The court was shown an article published in the Australian Financial Review three days before the defamation trial started where Kennett said he was aware of MPs who had made affidavits in support of Deeming and described them as “disloyal, and perhaps even treacherous”.
Kennett said in the article that those MPs would be “dealt with in due course when pre-selections are called for the next election”.
Asked by Chrystanthou if he was aware Kennett was going to provide comments to a journalist that describes MPs as “treacherous”, Pesutto said “no”.
Pesutto also said he had sent Kennett and other party members some details of settlement discussions with Deeming, which did not eventuate. He said he did so to “protect” himself from media reports that he was being “unreasonable”.
“I felt it was necessary given my role. This is a very unusual situation,” he told the court.
“I have to be able to do my job and maintain the confidence of my colleagues and very senior party figures.”
Pesutto told the court Kennett had made a contribution to his legal fees, which he had disclosed to parliament.
Earlier, Chrystanthou told Pesutto he had rung Sky News host Peta Credlin in January 2023 and asked her to help his new chief of staff, Rodrigo Pintos-Lopez, to set up his office. Pesutto said he “may well have” and did not dispute the suggestion.
“On becoming leader, I was reaching out widely to as many in the party as I could ...
I recognised Mrs Credlin had served in senior roles,” he said.
“I was reaching out broadly to bring the party together.”
Pesutto said Credlin represented parts of the Liberal party he wanted to engage.
Pesutto on Tuesday told the court he needed to take action against Deeming to protect the reputation of the Liberal party.
Last week, the court was played a secret recording of a meeting between Deming and members of the Liberal party’s leadership team, held the day after the rally. In it, Deeming tells the leadership team she is “obviously not a Nazi”. Pesutto is heard saying her attendance at the Let Women Speak rally would be “toxic” for the party as they attempt to win the 2026 Victorian election.
Deeming was initially suspended from the party’s parliamentary team in the days after the rally before later being expelled.
The Let Women Speak rally was co-organised by UK activist Kellie-Jay Keen, also known as Posie Parker, as part of her tour of Australia and New Zealand in which it was claimed that the push for transgender women’s rights was silencing and discriminating against women.
Deeming has alleged that Pesutto defamed her in media releases, press conferences and interviews he gave after the rally.
In his defence document, Pesutto argued that he “repeatedly and unequivocally acknowledged publicly that he does not believe Deeming to be a neo-Nazi, a white supremacist, or anything of similar substance or effect”.
He admitted to conveying some imputations, including that Deeming associated with speakers at the event who had “known links with neo-Nazis and white supremacists”.
The court on Tuesday heard that Deeming’s legal team had dropped three of the imputations referred to in her statement of claim, including the claim that Pesutto defamed her by implying she was a white supremacist.
The defamation trial, which began last week, is expected to run for three weeks.
