00:00Exiled Liberal MP Moira Deeming says she feels vindicated and delighted after a federal court
00:07judge found that her former boss, John Pesuto, did defame her as a Nazi sympathiser in the
00:13wake of an anti-trans rights rally on the steps of Victorian parliament last year that
00:17was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.
00:20Now in handing down his findings today, Justice David O'Callaghan said that Mr Pesuto defamed
00:25Ms Deeming in five separate publications, including radio and TV interviews, where he
00:30said Mr Pesuto conveyed that Ms Deeming had knowingly associated or sympathised with neo-Nazis
00:36causing serious damage to her reputation.
00:40He rejected Mr Pesuto's defences of public interest, honest opinion and contextual truth,
00:45saying that those defences either failed or did not arise, and in doing so he ordered
00:50that Ms Deeming be awarded $300,000 in damages.
00:54Now today, Ms Deeming held a press conference in the gardens of Victorian parliament where
00:58she reflected on her victory.
01:00She was asked about whether or not she believes John Pesuto should stand down as leader.
01:04She also said that she would like to return to the Liberal Party.
01:09I don't think that he's proven himself trustworthy, so it's not up to me to make that kind of
01:14call.
01:15This should not have come to this.
01:16I should not have had to go to court.
01:22This could have all been avoided.
01:25I don't understand the decisions that were made that led to this outcome.
01:29I had no other way to defend myself and to have these things retracted.
01:34Now this judgement has cast doubt on the future of John Pesuto's leadership.
01:38The motion to expel Ms Deeming last year divided the party from the start, with many people,
01:43particularly those within the more conservative wing of the party, backing Ms Deeming and
01:47saying that she shouldn't be expelled.
01:49This case overall, not just the verdict itself, has been incredibly damaging.
01:53It's exposed a lot of the fractures and divisions within Victoria's Liberal Party.
01:57We saw the airing of two secret recordings made by MPs.
02:00We also saw several Liberal MPs forced to give evidence both for Ms Deeming and Mr Pesuto.
02:06The question now is whether or not those within the party believe that John Pesuto should
02:11stay on as leader.
02:12Today we heard from former Victorian Premier Geoff Kennett who urged the Liberal Party
02:16to back Mr Pesuto.
02:18He said that Mr Pesuto was only representing party views.
02:21He also says that this will now be a test for the entire Liberal Party.
02:25In the coming days, another court hearing will be scheduled to decide how much legal
02:29costs will be and who will foot that bill.
