For John Pesutto, the former leader of Victoria’s Liberal Party, the threat of going broke is very real. He is now required to pay more than $2.3 million in legal expenses to his former party colleague Moira Deeming. The staggering financial burden comes from a meritless defamation lawsuit. Here, Pesutto was held liable for misleadingly claiming Deeming was a Nazi sympathizer. The Federal Court awarded Deeming $315,000 in damages and found Pesutto’s speech substantially defamatory.
Pesutto started this war by trying to expel Deeming. This move came on the heels of her appearance at an anti-trans rights demonstration, one that a coalition of neo-Nazi protestors disrupted. He attempted to extricate himself from the growing storm, but his ploy blew up in his face. As a consequence, he was removed as the leader of his party in the moment of the most acute political crisis.
Legal Battle and Financial Fallout
That defamation case against Pesutto ended with a judgement that made clear how egregious Pesutto’s allegations against Deeming were. The court found that he had acted with malice, leading to huge punitive damages awarded to her. Besides the damages, the legal costs that Pesutto has been stuck with are well beyond his present means.
Not deterred by the seriousness of this moment, Pesutto presses on. He stated, “I’m not going to understate it, it’s a very big challenge.” He knows he faces a huge challenge. He remains fully committed to raising the money needed within that short window. In the weeks since his accident, a GoFundMe page created by his friends and relatives has raised close to $125,000. Unfortunately, $1 billion is still nowhere close to what he really needs.
Pesutto has additionally requested the support of the Cormack Foundation, thus far committed to help fund, for any additional financial support. We’ve got his request currently under consideration. He is trying to find every possible loophole to avoid going bankrupt and losing his seat in parliament. If he doesn’t raise the required amount of money, he is in danger of losing his opportunity to be seated.
Reflections on Leadership and Missteps
In a rare moment of contrition, Pesutto has admitted in hindsight that he overreacted to Deeming’s provocation. He acknowledged mistakes in his leadership, specifically admitting to shortcomings in his communication style. “I fought as hard as I possibly could to settle the case at each step,” he noted. He said he wanted to do what was best for the party.
Regardless, Deeming’s readmission to the party room just after Christmas loomed large over Pesutto’s leadership choices. This debacle provokes profound questions about where the Liberal Party goes from here. It does, however, call into question the party’s ability to coalesce its disparate members as they head into the future. Though Deeming herself has expressed her anger at the way she was treated during this entire process.
“I can tell you honestly it doesn’t feel like a few unfortunate missteps, it feels like sustained, self-satisfied malice with the express goal of bankrupting me & destroying my career, my family & our future in every way.” – Moira Deeming
The Road Ahead
As Pesutto continues to steer his party through this painful episode, he is understandably optimistic of barking up these issues. Above all else, he reveled in his commitment—to his family, and to doing what it took to grow his career. “Now, it’s unfortunate for me that the decision has come down as it has, but I’m determined to meet that judgement and to raise the funds as quickly as I can.”
This legal fight goes beyond Pesutto and his personal financial interests. Perhaps more consequentially though, it exposes the ugly wounds still festering deep inside the Liberal Party. As internal conflicts continue to surface, party members are left contemplating how leadership decisions can impact their unity and public perception.
