#moira deeming

Moira Deeming wins defamation trial against John Pesutto

Kirralie Smith December 13, 2024

She stands triumphant as court has ordered Pesutto to pay $300,000 in damages

She won!!!

The court agrees that John Pesutto has defamed the democratically elected Moira Deeming MP and now he must pay the price. 

Pesutto has been ordered to pay Moira $300,000 in damages, and costs are yet to come. 

Many are calling for Pesutto's resignation but at this stage he is digging his heels in and is trying to minimise the damage.

Justice David O’Callaghan ruled in the Federal Court on Thursday that across the publications, there were six defamatory imputations, including that Mrs Deeming was ‘unfit to belong to the Victorian parliamentary Liberal Party because she knowingly associates with neo-Nazis”.

“The imputation found to be conveyed is that Mrs Deeming participated in a rally and knowingly worked with Ms Keen and other organisers to help them promote their odious Nazi agenda and their white supremacist and ethno-fascist views.

“I’ve also found that has caused and is likely to cause serious harm to her reputation”.

While Justice O’Callaghan declined to award Mrs Deeming aggravated damages, he did rule that “the appropriate award of damages to Mrs Deeming for non-economic loss is $300,000.”

This is a win not just for Moira, but for all of us who stand up for women’s sex-based rights in Australia. 

Making the vicious accusation that people who advocate for sex-based rights are“Nazis” is completely unacceptable. It reveals the utter lack of respect for truth and basic decency from anyone who flippantly throws around this dreadful slur.

Moira’s response demonstrated her deep commitment and integrity in an interview with Peta Credlin as she said: 

"Nothing was ever going to destroy me before I cleared my children's names. I was a happy little teacher for many many years but there comes a point where you have to stand up...It's unacceptable to me that child safeguards have been removed, it's unacceptable to me that women are not allowed to say no to men in our change rooms, that's just non negotiable”

The following is Mrs Deeming’s full media statement:

MEDIA STATEMENT FROM MOIRA DEEMING MP

I am grateful to God for this outcome, to the Court for its careful and prompt consideration of my case and to my lawyers whose dedication, expertise and integrity is unmatched.

The Judge found that I was defamed in five separate publications and that each of those also caused serious harm to my reputation. Every single one of Mr Pesutto’s defences, failed.

This judgment is a public acknowledgment that there was never any justification- legal, moral or political - for what the Opposition Leader did to me and to my family.

The organisers and attendees of the 2023 Melbourne “Let Women Speak” Rally did nothing wrong and it is shameful that they were treated without fairness or respect by so many in public office.

I will continue to fight for the rights of parents, women and children - and I know I won’t be alone.

I am pleased with this result and relieved to have been vindicated. It has been an incredibly tough 22 months for me and my family but I can now start to move forward with the judgment today clearing my name. 

Thank you to everyone who stood by me and defended me despite personal and political differences and regardless of the cost – friends, strangers, opponents, Liberal members and colleagues. Thanks to everyone who prayed, wrote, donated and told the truth. And finally, thank you to my family, especially my husband.

Moira Deeming looked as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders as she made brief comments immediately after the judgement