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A $1.5 million loan has been granted to former Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto, with the fractured party desperate to draw a line under a long-running defamation saga.
The Victorian Liberals’ administrative committee met on Thursday night and agreed to lend former leader John Pesutto $1.55 million to settle his debt to first-term MP Moira Deeming.
The Hawthorn MP was ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Deeming after the Federal Court found he defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis.
Pesutto, who has already coughed up $315,000 in damages, had only raised about $750,000 through wealthy backers and a GoFundMe campaign.
An attempt to reduce a portion of the legal costs in return for ensuring Deeming’s nomination and Pesutto’s commitment not to pursue the leadership role for the next three years was rejected.
Liberal MP Moira Deeming was found to have been defamed by Pesutto last year. Source: AAP / Joel Carrett
In a letter to party members on late on Thursday, Victorian Liberal president Philip Davis said the money would be paid directly to Deeming.
Pesutto will be required to repay the loan at market-rate interest.
Davis said the deal would avert a by-election and allow the Liberals’ parliamentary party to focus the issues that matter to the Victorian community.
Entering parliament on Thursday morning, Pesutto was upbeat about the committee agreeing to his loan request.
“Tonight’s an opportunity to square (the issue) off and put it all behind us,” he said.
Deeming sceptical of détente
Deeming, who was expelled from the party room before being welcomed back in December, was sceptical it would end the infighting that has engulfed the party since March 2023.
“I assume that they will continue with their quest to try to annihilate me,” the upper house MP said.
Deeming said the party could “do what they like” but she would take any support of Pesutto as a “direct rebukement (sic)” of the court judgement.
Opposition leader Brad Battin attended Thursday night’s meeting but would not reveal to reporters how he planned to vote.
Battin urged Deeming and Pesutto to “smell the roses” if either woke up on Friday morning unhappy with the outcome.
Time is running out for Battin to unite the Liberals before the next state election in November 2026.
