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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Benita Kolovos Victorian state correspondent

John Pesutto defies calls to resign after being ordered to pay $300,000 for defaming Moira Deeming

Moira Deeming and John Pesutto
The federal court has found that Victorian MP Moira Deeming was defamed by the Victoria’s Liberal leader John Pesutto. Composite: AAP/Con Chronis

A defiant John Pesutto says he won’t resign as Victoria’s opposition leader after a damning court judgment found he defamed ousted Liberal MP Moira Deeming and will need to pay her $300,000 in damages.

Federal court justice David O’Callaghan on Thursday found Pesutto defamed Deeming on five separate occasions after the Let Women Speak rally she helped organise on 18 March 2023, which was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.

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