Battin had legal advice that Pesutto loan could breach Liberal Party constitution
Colleen Harkin, a member of the party's administrative committee, made the assertion in a statement of claim on Monday, in a case seeking to have the loan thrown out.
The 19-member committee last month supported the loan to ensure that Pesutto could pay his party room colleague Moira Deeming 's legal fees, sparing him bankruptcy and a byelection in his marginal seat of Hawthorn.
Pesutto was ordered to pay her legal costs after the Federal Court found he repeatedly defamed her by falsely implying she associated with neo-Nazis.
The party loan requires Pesutto to repay the money at a market-based interest rate.
Harkin has been joined by four other members of the Victorian Liberals' administrative committee to argue in the Supreme Court that the loan would constitute a 'benefit', which would breach the party's constitution.
Her statement of claim said Battin had sought his own legal advice, which said as much, but that this advice was not provided to the committee.
'On or around 13 June 2025, in response to a request from the seventh defendant, Brad Battin MP (Battin), the Leader of the Opposition in Victoria and the state member for Berwick, a legal opinion was provided by Stuart Wood KC and Paul Jeffreys of Counsel on whether a proposed loan to Mr Pesutto would comply with clause 18.8 of the constitution,' the claim states.
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