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Former Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto has been ordered to pay $2.3 million in costs after he was first-term MP Moira Deeming.
In December, Federal Court Justice David O’Callaghan found Pesutto had defamed Deeming by implying she was who gatecrashed a controversial Melbourne rally she attended.
He ordered Pesutto pay her $315,000 on top of her legal costs for the case, which were calculated to be $2,308,873.
Deeming’s barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC is also pushing for Pesutto to pay her legal fees for the costs hearings.
The scale of the final bill has raised internal fears about the Hawthorn MP’s ability to pay it, with MPs ineligible to sit in Victorian parliament if they declare bankruptcy.
Pesutto’s latest register of interest does not list any investment properties or any other forms of income, only his home in Camberwell.
Former Victorian Liberal premiers Ted Baillieu, Jeff Kennett and Denis Napthine were listed among his donors for the court battle.
Pesutto’s annual salary has also dropped from about $378,000 to $205,000 since he lost the Liberal leadership in late-December.
Moira Deeming brought a defamation suit against John Pesutto, arguing that he had implied she was associated with neo-Nazis who gatecrashed a demonstration she attended. Source: AAP / Joel Carrett
In a short statement, Pesutto said he was determined to continue serving as an MP.
“I am grateful for the support I am receiving from the community and am hopeful with this support that I will be able to fulfil these obligations and continue serving the people of Victoria,” he said.
The Herald Sun reports Pesutto has been in discussions with the Cormack Foundation, a multimillion-dollar investment group for the Liberal Party, to cover the legal costs bill.
Premier Brad Battin said it was up to the party secretariat to decide whether to bail out Pesutto and indicated the Liberals weren’t preparing for a by-election in Hawthorn, declaring it a “hypothetical”.
“It’s a bit early to pre-empt this,” he told reporters.
“All of the conversations I’ll have with my team around this will remain confidential.
“I would like to see John at the next election.”
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