Latest news with #MoiraDeeming
AU Financial Review
4 days ago
- Politics
- AU Financial Review
Controversial MP's supporters storm Liberal election
The Victorian Liberal Party is faced with a prodigiously unpopular state Labor government. And yet, it cannot seem to manoeuvre itself into electability. Party moderates and elders hold firebrand upper house MP Moira Deeming and her successful defamation suit against ex-party leader John Pesutto responsible. Deeming's attendance at a controversial rally gate-crashed by neo-Nazis, and Pesutto's subsequent (and reversed) decision to expel her from the party room has ripped the party apart.
AU Financial Review
4 days ago
- Politics
- AU Financial Review
Moira Deeming: Controversial MP's supporters storm Liberal election
The Victorian Liberal Party is faced with a prodigiously unpopular state Labor government. And yet, it cannot seem to manoeuvre itself into electability. Party moderates and elders hold firebrand upper house MP Moira Deeming and her successful defamation suit against ex-party leader John Pesutto responsible. Deeming's attendance at a controversial rally gate-crashed by neo-Nazis, and Pesutto's subsequent (and reversed) decision to expel her from the party room has ripped the party apart.
Irish Times
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Feuds, clown-shows and a neo-Nazi libel: An Australian political party's internecine fights
If you heard a political party leader had implied a fellow MP sympathised with neo-Nazis, you would probably assume it took place in an unstable democracy. But it happened in the Australian state of Victoria and involved the opposition Liberal Party. It cost state leader John Pesutto his position and left him owing millions of dollars. The Victorian Liberals have been busy shooting themselves in the foot for decades in a battle for control between moderates – such as Pesutto – and Christian right-wingers such as MP Moira Deeming. The latest trouble started in March 2023 when Deeming addressed a rally called Let Women Speak outside the state parliament in Melbourne. The rally, headed by British anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen, was gatecrashed by black-clad supporters who gave Nazi salutes on the parliament's steps. READ MORE Victoria has long been at the centre of neo-Nazi activity in Australia and some of them leapt on the rally's bandwagon, knowing it would get a lot of attention. Performing a Nazi salute was soon banned, but there were long-term ramifications for the Liberal Party. Deeming was initially suspended and later expelled from the parliamentary party after threatening to sue Pesutto, saying he had falsely portrayed her as a Nazi sympathiser. Attempts to get her to drop the case failed and last December federal court judge David O'Callaghan ruled Pesutto had defamed Deeming on several occasions. The judge found that in an interview with national broadcaster ABC 'the imputation found to be conveyed is that Mrs Deeming knowingly associates or sympathises with neo-Nazis and white supremacists, and is thus unfit to be a member of the parliamentary Liberal Party'. Deeming was awarded 300,000 Australian dollars (€167,000) in damages. Pesutto was told to pay costs of about two million Australian dollars. He resigned as party leader while Deeming was reinstated. Though a well-off man, Pesutto didn't have $2.3 million lying around and was on the verge of bankruptcy until the Liberal Party bailed him out with a $1.5 million loan last month, just days before the deadline for paying his debts. The party did it for reasons of self-preservation. If Pesutto had become bankrupt then he would have been forced to resign a marginal seat that the Liberals risked losing to their rivals. Labor has ruled in Victoria for all bar four years since 1999, but with a state debt of $167 billion and the worst youth crime figures since 2009, the Liberals should be a shoo-in to win next year's state election. But, as seen with the Pesutto-Deeming debacle, the party is far more concerned with internecine disputes between moderates and right-wing Christians. Victoria is Australia's least religious state, with just 43.8 per cent of its population claiming to be Christian in the 2021 census, while 42.1 per cent said they had no religion. If Victoria's Christian population were evenly distributed around the state, a party dominated by right-wing Christians might have a winning formula. But that's not the case. While some suburbs have Christian majorities, one district is majority Muslim and others have significant minorities of Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs. And, of course, Christians are likely to spread their vote. Brad Battin, who replaced Pesutto as Liberal leader, would like nothing better than to be able to attack Labor on rising crime. As a former police officer, he would be on solid ground. But he can't get the public and the media to concentrate on Labor's inability to control public order or balance the books when his own side keeps offering a clown-show distraction. As well as the battle between the right-wing and the moderates for control of the Liberals, Battin's deputy leader Sam Groth was recently revealed to have stayed in what has been called 'plush Melbourne hotels', paid for by taxpayers, after attending high-profile sporting events. One of Groth's colleagues told the Herald Sun newspaper that 'taking free tickets to events and taking your wife and booking a fancy hotel room in the city won't sit well with the public in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis'. In the meantime, the Labor Party gets on with ruling a state with increasing debt and rising crime, crossing its fingers and hoping that the Liberals continue to fight among themselves.
Sky News AU
26-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Liberal Party members seek court challenge against Pesutto's bailout
A group of Liberals have launched a court challenge to John Pesutto's loan from the party, which not long ago was adjourned until next week. The former Victorian Liberal leader appears to have avoided bankruptcy after his $2.3 million debt was paid to Moira Deeming on Thursday morning despite the pending legal challenge. The last-minute court action was lodged to stop the $1.55 million loaned to John Pesutto – which was paid by the Victorian Liberal Party.
The Guardian
26-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Afternoon Update: Pesutto pays Deeming debt; Trump officials cite ‘new intelligence' on Iran strikes; and what it's like snapping Oasis
Good afternoon. The former Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto has paid $2.3m in legal costs owed to his colleague Moira Deeming, meaning he will avoid bankruptcy and be able to remain in state parliament as the member for Hawthorn. Last month, the federal court ordered the payment after it found in December that Pesutto repeatedly defamed the upper house MP by falsely implying she sympathised with neo-Nazis and white supremacists. According to a source, two separate payments were made to Deeming on Thursday morning: one by the Liberal party's investment vehicle, Vapold, and another by Pesutto personally. Cassius Turvey's murder has 'torn at the very fabric of our society', his mother tells court Usman Khawaja refuses SEN interview after radio station's sacking of journalist Israeli forces kill three Palestinians after settlers attack West Bank town Trump officials cite 'new intelligence' to back president's claims of success in strikes on Iran The world wants China's rare earth elements – what is life like in the city that produces them? 'Is this AI?': surfing world in awe after 'best air ever' pulled off by 18-year-old Australian 'Liam had been drinking all night. Noel was not in a great mood': photographers pick their best Oasis shot Lairy, drunk, fighting, laughing … five photographers who shot Oasis recall what it was like capturing them in depressing pre-fame hotels – and at their Champagne Supernova heights. 'While it's humbling and disappointing, the election result, you can do one of two things. You can get in the foetal position and give up or you can come out swinging … so let's come out swinging.' – David Littleproud The federal Coalition is getting down to business after its thumping election defeat, with shadow cabinet convening in Canberra. While the Nationals leader agreed with Sussan Ley's assertion that the Coalition had to 'rebuild with humility', he also urged his colleagues to be 'aggressive' in prosecuting the case against Labor, saying that the 'mob' (read: voters) would eventually 'turn big time' against the Albanese government. In total the richest 1% of the global population has gained 'enough to end annual global poverty 22 times over' since 2015, according to new Oxfam analysis. Sign up to Afternoon Update Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The ABC squandered trust with its multicultural audience when it sent Antoinette Lattouf packing Shutting down voices is not 'social cohesion', writes Media Diversity Australia's Paula Kruger – we need a different approach to our most difficult conversations. Today's starter word is: REX. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply. If you would like to receive this Afternoon Update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or start your day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know with our Morning Mail newsletter. You can follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland.
