Three defamation cases against Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto to be heard in single trial

Three women are suing the Victorian opposition leader over a series of media releases, press conferences and radio interviews he gave after the 2023 Let Women Speak rally. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP

A federal court judge has ruled three separate defamation cases against the Victorian opposition leader, John Pesutto, will be heard together in a single trial.

At a short hearing in Melbourne on Thursday, Justice Michael Wheelahan ordered the cases of Moira Deeming, Kellie-Jay Keen and Angie Jones to be held concurrently, with a trial to begin on 16 September.

The trial will now run for 15 days, instead of the 10 days he had allocated when Deeming was the sole applicant.

Justice Wheelahan said the trial would not be extended and urged lawyers for the three women to work together to ensure there would be no doubling up, particularly during the cross examination of witnesses.

“The trial will be listed for 15 days. That’s not an estimate – that is the time the court will make available for these three matters. The parties will be required to agree a timetable so that all three matters are completed within 15 days,” he said.

To ensure the matter proceeds on schedule, he also ordered lawyers for all parties to follow a strict timeline for filing supporting material and written submissions. He said if there are any delays, they must notify other parties in the matter, as well as the court.

“Experience shows in complex matters – and this is complex because there are now three proceedings to be heard together – there is the prospect from time to time of non-compliance with orders,” Wheelahan said.

The three women are suing the Liberal leader over a series of media releases, press conferences and radio interviews he gave after the Let Women Speak rally, which was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis who performed the Sieg Heil salute on the front steps of parliament last March.

The rally was organised by Jones and headlined by Keen, also known as Posie Parker, while Deeming also spoke at the event.

After the rally, Pesutto moved to expel Deeming from the Liberal party room, claiming Deeming had associations with the organisers of the event who had “known links with Nazis, Nazi sympathisers, far-right extremists, white supremacists”, according to court documents.

Deeming’s lawyers argue his comments conveyed 67 imputations, including that she “supports, sympathises with or associates with white supremacists and neo-Nazis”, and that she is a white supremacist or neo-Nazi.

In his defence, Pesutto has categorically denied this, arguing he “repeatedly and unequivocally acknowledged publicly that he does not believe Deeming to be a neo-Nazi, a white supremacist or anything of similar substance or effect”.

Jones and Keen have accused Pesutto of damaging their reputations during his campaign to expel Deeming.

All three women are seeking aggravated damages.

Several Liberal MPs are expected to be called to testify during the trial, including Pesutto.

The state Liberal leader has repeatedly denied the saga would be a distraction from his leadership responsibilities, though several of the party’s MPs are agitating for a spill, with shadow treasurer Brad Rowswell, former tennis player Sam Groth and police spokesperson Brad Battin all touted as possible replacements.