John Pesutto urged to resign after Moira Deeming wins defamation case over ‘neo-Nazi’ comments

Court finds Victorian Liberal leader defamed then party-room colleague when referring to rally gatecrashed by far right

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Victoria’s opposition leader, John Pesutto, is facing calls to resign after a federal court found he defamed his fellow Liberal MP Moira Deeming in comments made after neo-Nazis gatecrashed a rally she helped organise.

As part of a damning judgment handed down by justice David O’Callaghan on Thursday, Pesutto was ordered to pay Deeming $300,000 for the damage to her reputation he caused on five separate occasions after the Let Women Speak rally on 18 March 2023.

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