Liberal Leader Acknowledges Misspeaking Following Rally Interruption
During a rally outside parliament that was disrupted by men performing a Nazi salute, Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto has admitted to making a mistake.
In court on Sept. 30, Pesutto testified as his defamation trial entered its third week. He is being sued by expelled Liberal MP Moira Deeming over comments he made after the Let Women Speak rally in March 2023.
Pesutto clarified that he did not accuse Deeming of being a Nazi or call her “odious.” However, he acknowledged that he misspoke multiple times about alleged indirect connections between rally attendee Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull and an activist who had previously conversed with ex-Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
“It was truly an error,” Pesutto stated in the Federal Court on Monday.
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“I didn’t repeat it again.”
Pesutto previously settled with Keen-Minshull and rally organizer Angela Jones, publicly apologizing to both women.
Efforts to mediate with Deeming were unsuccessful, and several Victorian Liberals have appeared in court, revealing private communications among senior party members.
A document on the court’s website disclosed that in May 2023, Deeming sent a draft statement to Peta Credlin, a Sky News host and former chief of staff to Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott.
Credlin responded with a “suggested re-draft.”
Deeming testified that the men performing the Nazi salute had no affiliation with the Let Women Speak rally, finding their actions “shocking,” as she only saw the gesture after police escorted them away.
The trial is ongoing.
