2 days Ago By Melissa Meehan
Expelled Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming says she knew a transgender-critical women's rights rally she helped organise would be controversial, but never expected to be booted from the party. Login or signup to continue reading Ms Deeming returned to the witness box on Wednesday for the third day of her defamation trial against Opposition Leader John Pesutto over comments he made about her attending the March 2023 rally outside state parliament. Justice David O'Callaghan opened the hearing by refusing Ms Deeming's application to subpoena deputy Liberal leader David Southwick for any other communications or recordings.
The application followed a secret recording of a Liberal leadership meeting in March 2023, played to the court on Tuesday, after Ms Deeming attended a women's rights rally that was gatecrashed by Nazis. On Wednesday, Ms Deeming was again questioned by Mr Pesutto's barrister Matthew Collins KC over her involvement in the organisation of the Let Women Speak rally on Victoria's parliament steps. Ms Deeming said despite her involvement, she had tried to avoid being a divisive member of the Liberal Party after she was shocked by an internal fallout over duck hunting.
She said MP James Newbury had spoken on radio criticising duck hunting and "it looked like it was about to break up the Coalition". "I'd never seen anything like that with adults ..
. I was very worried about the team," she told the Federal Court hearing of a fiery exchange within the party room. As a result she said she asked Mr Pesutto to help her advocate on women's rights without creating a similar situation.
She said the "very warm" Mr Pesutto told her "it shows me you won't be that kind of person". As a result, Ms Deeming said it was "important to do this well" and wanted to meet Mr Pesutto for more advice about the rally, but that meeting never eventuated. Mr Collins suggested that despite her claims, Ms Deeming had failed to tell Mr Pesutto she was helping to organise and would speak at the rally, instead only telling him that she would attend it because she knew it would be controversial.
"I knew it was controversial. I'm not denying any of those things," Ms Deeming told the court. "I didn't consider this to be toxic in any way, but controversial was acceptable to me.
"I just considered that I had consulted with my leader and he knew what I was doing, and I was going along and doing it." When asked if she thought the rally could become violent, Ms Deeming said she organised security after becoming aware of personal and group threats made by counter protest groups. "Knowing there were threats from the counter protesters .
.. made me more determined to be brave and to go," she said.
Ms Deeming is expected to continue to be questioned into the afternoon. High-profile Liberals are set to give evidence over the three-week trial including federal Senator Sarah Henderson, Mr Southwick and former MP Matt Bach who is flying in from his new home in the United Kingdom. Mr Pesutto has denied wrongdoing.
Ms Deeming has been an independent MP since she was expelled. Mr Pesutto previously reached settlements with anti-trans rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull and Angela Jones, issuing both a public apology over their involvement in the rally. Australian Associated Press DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team.
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