Victoria's opposition leader says he's determined to fight on a day after a vote over an expelled MP exposed festering division within the Liberal party.
But John Pesutto has come the closest since losing a defamation case to issuing an apology to Moira Deeming, the MP he defamed and expelled from the parliamentary party.
Liberal MPs were split 14 apiece on welcoming Mrs Deeming back into the party on Friday, after the Federal Court found Mr Pesutto defamed her and ordered he pay $315,632 in damages plus costs.
On Saturday Mr Pesutto denied he'd been given an ultimatum to resign by colleagues and said he would not be stepping aside.
"I'm determined to fight on behalf of the Victorian people," he told reporters on Saturday.
"The Victorian people know me now after two years as a fighter for them."
"The party room is a place where diverse opinions are always to be aired ... There was a long debate ... We've resolved it. We're moving on," Mr Pesutto said.
Mrs Deeming was expelled from the parliamentary party after a controversial rally she attended in March 2023 was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.
Friday's motion failed as it required an "absolute majority" of 16 out of 30 members to pass under the party's constitution, and two MPs were away.
Mr Pesutto, who also used his casting vote to break the tie, came the closest since his defamation loss to issuing an apology to Mrs Deeming.
"I am sorry to Mrs Deeming and to my colleagues as well for what the court has found but it's important that we move on," he said.
"The court's findings dealt with what was found against me. I'm apologising for those things, and I think that's appropriate."
Asked if he would be willing to apologise to Mrs Deeming in person, Mr Pesutto said he would but hadn't done so.
"There's been a lot we've been focused on as the year's coming to an end but I'm open to those things and happy to explore them," he said.
He also did not rule out Mrs Deeming returning to the party room, saying it was a matter for Liberal MPs to decide.
Mrs Deeming, who remains a Liberal party member but sits as an independent MP in the state's upper house, suggested after the vote that the matter was far from over.
"I will get the apology that's owed to me and ... it is only a matter of time before I return to the party room," she said in a statement on Friday.
After the 70-minute meeting, Mrs Deeming's allies told reporters the tied vote meant the issue was not resolved, showed the party was "split down the middle" and would make it "difficult to unite".
Late on Friday, The Age reported Mr Pesutto had been told he had 24 hours to resign or he would face a leadership challenge, which would require another petition backed by five MPs and a subsequent special party room meeting.
A supporter of Mr Pesutto, speaking to AAP on condition of anonymity, admitted the issue wasn't going away and was unsure if Mr Pesutto could survive.
"This is the worst result. It's shocking," the Liberal MP said.
"There's a massive divide."
A second Liberal MP, who voted against the motion, said they weren't sure if the outcome would be fatal for Mr Pesutto's leadership.
"It will depend on whether that dissident group is prepared to torch the prairie ... to burn down everything for the purposes of narrow advantage," they told AAP.
The internal upheaval stems from Mr Pesutto being found to have made defamatory comments implying Mrs Deeming was associated with Nazis following the 2023 Melbourne rally she attended.
She was initially handed a nine-month suspension before being booted from the parliamentary party after threatening to sue Mr Pesutto.
The opposition leader has refused to resign, triggering former tennis player turned Nepean MP Sam Groth to quit his shadow cabinet.
