Latest news with #VictorianLiberal
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Sky News host Peta Credlin unleashes on Victorian Liberals and their former leader John Pesutto over $1.55m bailout 'mess'
Last December, Mr Pesutto was ordered to pay $300,000 in damages as well as foot Ms Deeming's legal fees, which equated to about $2.3 million. Mr Pesutto had already raised just over $750,000 in order to help pay off his debt and was pushing for an agreement which would see the Liberal Party, or a party-linked investment fund, loan him the remaining $1.55 million. The party agreed on Thursday night to loan him the remaining amount, which means he can officially repay Ms Deeming the $2.3 million he owed ahead of the deadline next week, narrowly avoiding bankruptcy in the process. Watch Peta Credlin's analysis and her full program with a Streaming Subscription. The Victorian Liberal Party was deeply divided over whether its funds should be used to bail out Mr Pesutto, who was found to have defamed Ms Deeming as someone who 'associates with Nazis'. Credlin, the former chief of staff to Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott, told viewers on Thursday, before the Victorian Liberal Party held a meeting about the loan, that the money did not come from a bank as Mr Pesutto would not put his home up for security. She said the funds instead came from party volunteers - the 'unsung heroes of the Victorian Liberal Party' - which directly contradicted Liberal Party President Greg Mirabella and the current incumbent Phil Davis, as well as Mr Pesutto himself, who said not a dollar of Liberal Party funds would be used for legal bills. Credlin lashed Mr Pesutto and quoted him saying: 'I will not be asking the party to cover any legal fees .' The Sky News host said Mr Pesutto was a lawyer who 'clearly doesn't keep his word'. 'Worryingly, reports today that Pesutto's successor as leader, Brad Batten, supports this loan not because he's a fan of Pesutto, but because he doesn't want to face a by-election for Pesutto's seat, which will happen if he can't pay his debt and Paz is bankrupted,' Credlin said. Bankruptcy disqualifies MPs from holding a seat in Parliament in Australia. Credlin said the motivation to bail out Mr Pesutto was 'fair enough', but added no political party should be 'frightened' of an election. 'Even now, after being out of power for the better part of 25 years, this is the Victorian Liberal Party that is still focused on itself, not the voters who were desperate for change,' Credlini said. 'A party room of malcontents who still are intent on scoring points against each other instead of working together to save Victorians from a government that wants to tax them into oblivion.' Credlin said Mr Pesutto had gotten himself and the party into a 'mess of his own making' and accused him of being 'spooked' by former premier Daniel Andrews which led him to acting 'irrationally'. In closing, Credlin addressed Mr Pesutto by his first name and said: 'Sorry John, you've made your bed, now lie in it.' In a statement, Victorian Liberal Leader Brad Battin said he supported the Party's Administrative Committee to pay Ms Deeming the $1.55 million owed to her by Mr Pesutto to 'satisfy the Federal Court costs order'. 'This decision was not about personalities or past disputes – it was about protecting the interests of the people we serve and ensuring our Party can continue its important work,' Mr Battin said. 'The loan arrangement ensures the Party avoids further financial and reputational damage, allows us to put this matter behind us, and refocuses our efforts where they belong – holding Australia's worst government to account and building a stronger, fairer future for Victoria.' In a social media post, Ms Deeming posted an image of herself with superimposed words reading: 'They failed to protect her when she was attacked. They punished her for defending herself.' 'They financially profited off her trauma,' the post continued. 'They told the world they did her a favour. This is what institutional abuse looks like.'
The Advertiser
4 days ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
Legal bill bailout to spare ex-Liberal boss bankruptcy
A state Liberal party has come to the financial rescue of its axed leader to spare him from bankruptcy and avoid a politically dangerous by-election. 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 party will pay the money directly to Mrs Deeming and Mr Pesutto will be required to repay the loan at market-rate interest. In a letter to party members, Victorian Liberal president Philip Davis said the outcome would ensure there was no by-election in Mr Pesutto's marginal seat of Hawthorn. "Settling this matter once and for all is in the interests of the party as it will see an end to the ongoing commentary that is letting Labor get away with their appalling performance," he wrote. The Hawthorn MP was ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming after the Federal Court found he defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis. It left him facing bankruptcy, which would trigger his exit from parliament and a subsequent by-election, unless the debt was paid back in a matter of weeks. Mr Pesutto, who has already coughed up $315,000 in damages, had raised only about $750,000 through wealthy backers and a GoFundMe campaign. An offer to defer some of the legal bill in exchange for Mrs Deeming's guaranteed preselection and Mr Pesutto swearing off trying to return as leader for three years were rebuffed. Entering parliament on Thursday morning, Mr Pesutto was upbeat about the committee agreeing to his loan request. "I certainly hope it gets resolved," he said. "Tonight's an opportunity to square (the issue) off and put it all behind us." Mrs 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. Mrs Deeming said the party can "do what they like" but she would take any support of Mr Pesutto as a "direct rebukement (sic)" of the court judgement. She said her party room colleagues "don't speak to me" because she "had the audacity to defend myself against false claims". "Some of them are very nice," Mrs Deeming said. "But I really do get treated as though it is my fault and that I'm the aggressor, and that's ridiculous." Opposition Leader Brad Battin has not escaped internal criticism of his handling of the saga despite inheriting it when he replaced Mr Pesutto as leader in December. He attended the meeting but would not reveal how he intended to vote. "I'll go through the process with the administrative committee and keep all my conversations with them confidential," Mr Battin said on Thursday afternoon. Time is running out for Mr Battin to unite the party before the next state election in November 2026. He had a message for Mr Pesutto or Mrs Deeming if the outcome of the meeting did not go their way. "Should any person wake up unhappy tomorrow, I would say to them, 'Have a look around and smell the roses and let's see what Victoria really needs'," Mr Battin said. "They need an opposition whose ready to govern and we'll ensure that is us." A state Liberal party has come to the financial rescue of its axed leader to spare him from bankruptcy and avoid a politically dangerous by-election. 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 party will pay the money directly to Mrs Deeming and Mr Pesutto will be required to repay the loan at market-rate interest. In a letter to party members, Victorian Liberal president Philip Davis said the outcome would ensure there was no by-election in Mr Pesutto's marginal seat of Hawthorn. "Settling this matter once and for all is in the interests of the party as it will see an end to the ongoing commentary that is letting Labor get away with their appalling performance," he wrote. The Hawthorn MP was ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming after the Federal Court found he defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis. It left him facing bankruptcy, which would trigger his exit from parliament and a subsequent by-election, unless the debt was paid back in a matter of weeks. Mr Pesutto, who has already coughed up $315,000 in damages, had raised only about $750,000 through wealthy backers and a GoFundMe campaign. An offer to defer some of the legal bill in exchange for Mrs Deeming's guaranteed preselection and Mr Pesutto swearing off trying to return as leader for three years were rebuffed. Entering parliament on Thursday morning, Mr Pesutto was upbeat about the committee agreeing to his loan request. "I certainly hope it gets resolved," he said. "Tonight's an opportunity to square (the issue) off and put it all behind us." Mrs 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. Mrs Deeming said the party can "do what they like" but she would take any support of Mr Pesutto as a "direct rebukement (sic)" of the court judgement. She said her party room colleagues "don't speak to me" because she "had the audacity to defend myself against false claims". "Some of them are very nice," Mrs Deeming said. "But I really do get treated as though it is my fault and that I'm the aggressor, and that's ridiculous." Opposition Leader Brad Battin has not escaped internal criticism of his handling of the saga despite inheriting it when he replaced Mr Pesutto as leader in December. He attended the meeting but would not reveal how he intended to vote. "I'll go through the process with the administrative committee and keep all my conversations with them confidential," Mr Battin said on Thursday afternoon. Time is running out for Mr Battin to unite the party before the next state election in November 2026. He had a message for Mr Pesutto or Mrs Deeming if the outcome of the meeting did not go their way. "Should any person wake up unhappy tomorrow, I would say to them, 'Have a look around and smell the roses and let's see what Victoria really needs'," Mr Battin said. "They need an opposition whose ready to govern and we'll ensure that is us." A state Liberal party has come to the financial rescue of its axed leader to spare him from bankruptcy and avoid a politically dangerous by-election. 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 party will pay the money directly to Mrs Deeming and Mr Pesutto will be required to repay the loan at market-rate interest. In a letter to party members, Victorian Liberal president Philip Davis said the outcome would ensure there was no by-election in Mr Pesutto's marginal seat of Hawthorn. "Settling this matter once and for all is in the interests of the party as it will see an end to the ongoing commentary that is letting Labor get away with their appalling performance," he wrote. The Hawthorn MP was ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming after the Federal Court found he defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis. It left him facing bankruptcy, which would trigger his exit from parliament and a subsequent by-election, unless the debt was paid back in a matter of weeks. Mr Pesutto, who has already coughed up $315,000 in damages, had raised only about $750,000 through wealthy backers and a GoFundMe campaign. An offer to defer some of the legal bill in exchange for Mrs Deeming's guaranteed preselection and Mr Pesutto swearing off trying to return as leader for three years were rebuffed. Entering parliament on Thursday morning, Mr Pesutto was upbeat about the committee agreeing to his loan request. "I certainly hope it gets resolved," he said. "Tonight's an opportunity to square (the issue) off and put it all behind us." Mrs 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. Mrs Deeming said the party can "do what they like" but she would take any support of Mr Pesutto as a "direct rebukement (sic)" of the court judgement. She said her party room colleagues "don't speak to me" because she "had the audacity to defend myself against false claims". "Some of them are very nice," Mrs Deeming said. "But I really do get treated as though it is my fault and that I'm the aggressor, and that's ridiculous." Opposition Leader Brad Battin has not escaped internal criticism of his handling of the saga despite inheriting it when he replaced Mr Pesutto as leader in December. He attended the meeting but would not reveal how he intended to vote. "I'll go through the process with the administrative committee and keep all my conversations with them confidential," Mr Battin said on Thursday afternoon. Time is running out for Mr Battin to unite the party before the next state election in November 2026. He had a message for Mr Pesutto or Mrs Deeming if the outcome of the meeting did not go their way. "Should any person wake up unhappy tomorrow, I would say to them, 'Have a look around and smell the roses and let's see what Victoria really needs'," Mr Battin said. "They need an opposition whose ready to govern and we'll ensure that is us." A state Liberal party has come to the financial rescue of its axed leader to spare him from bankruptcy and avoid a politically dangerous by-election. 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 party will pay the money directly to Mrs Deeming and Mr Pesutto will be required to repay the loan at market-rate interest. In a letter to party members, Victorian Liberal president Philip Davis said the outcome would ensure there was no by-election in Mr Pesutto's marginal seat of Hawthorn. "Settling this matter once and for all is in the interests of the party as it will see an end to the ongoing commentary that is letting Labor get away with their appalling performance," he wrote. The Hawthorn MP was ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming after the Federal Court found he defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis. It left him facing bankruptcy, which would trigger his exit from parliament and a subsequent by-election, unless the debt was paid back in a matter of weeks. Mr Pesutto, who has already coughed up $315,000 in damages, had raised only about $750,000 through wealthy backers and a GoFundMe campaign. An offer to defer some of the legal bill in exchange for Mrs Deeming's guaranteed preselection and Mr Pesutto swearing off trying to return as leader for three years were rebuffed. Entering parliament on Thursday morning, Mr Pesutto was upbeat about the committee agreeing to his loan request. "I certainly hope it gets resolved," he said. "Tonight's an opportunity to square (the issue) off and put it all behind us." Mrs 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. Mrs Deeming said the party can "do what they like" but she would take any support of Mr Pesutto as a "direct rebukement (sic)" of the court judgement. She said her party room colleagues "don't speak to me" because she "had the audacity to defend myself against false claims". "Some of them are very nice," Mrs Deeming said. "But I really do get treated as though it is my fault and that I'm the aggressor, and that's ridiculous." Opposition Leader Brad Battin has not escaped internal criticism of his handling of the saga despite inheriting it when he replaced Mr Pesutto as leader in December. He attended the meeting but would not reveal how he intended to vote. "I'll go through the process with the administrative committee and keep all my conversations with them confidential," Mr Battin said on Thursday afternoon. Time is running out for Mr Battin to unite the party before the next state election in November 2026. He had a message for Mr Pesutto or Mrs Deeming if the outcome of the meeting did not go their way. "Should any person wake up unhappy tomorrow, I would say to them, 'Have a look around and smell the roses and let's see what Victoria really needs'," Mr Battin said. "They need an opposition whose ready to govern and we'll ensure that is us."
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Legal bill bailout to spare ex-Liberal boss bankruptcy
A state Liberal party has come to the financial rescue of its axed leader to spare him from bankruptcy and avoid a politically dangerous by-election. 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 party will pay the money directly to Mrs Deeming and Mr Pesutto will be required to repay the loan at market-rate interest. In a letter to party members, Victorian Liberal president Philip Davis said the outcome would ensure there was no by-election in Mr Pesutto's marginal seat of Hawthorn. "Settling this matter once and for all is in the interests of the party as it will see an end to the ongoing commentary that is letting Labor get away with their appalling performance," he wrote. The Hawthorn MP was ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming after the Federal Court found he defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis. It left him facing bankruptcy, which would trigger his exit from parliament and a subsequent by-election, unless the debt was paid back in a matter of weeks. Mr Pesutto, who has already coughed up $315,000 in damages, had raised only about $750,000 through wealthy backers and a GoFundMe campaign. An offer to defer some of the legal bill in exchange for Mrs Deeming's guaranteed preselection and Mr Pesutto swearing off trying to return as leader for three years were rebuffed. Entering parliament on Thursday morning, Mr Pesutto was upbeat about the committee agreeing to his loan request. "I certainly hope it gets resolved," he said. "Tonight's an opportunity to square (the issue) off and put it all behind us." Mrs 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. Mrs Deeming said the party can "do what they like" but she would take any support of Mr Pesutto as a "direct rebukement (sic)" of the court judgement. She said her party room colleagues "don't speak to me" because she "had the audacity to defend myself against false claims". "Some of them are very nice," Mrs Deeming said. "But I really do get treated as though it is my fault and that I'm the aggressor, and that's ridiculous." Opposition Leader Brad Battin has not escaped internal criticism of his handling of the saga despite inheriting it when he replaced Mr Pesutto as leader in December. He attended the meeting but would not reveal how he intended to vote. "I'll go through the process with the administrative committee and keep all my conversations with them confidential," Mr Battin said on Thursday afternoon. Time is running out for Mr Battin to unite the party before the next state election in November 2026. He had a message for Mr Pesutto or Mrs Deeming if the outcome of the meeting did not go their way. "Should any person wake up unhappy tomorrow, I would say to them, 'Have a look around and smell the roses and let's see what Victoria really needs'," Mr Battin said. "They need an opposition whose ready to govern and we'll ensure that is us."
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
'Walk for Truth' draws curtain on nation-first inquiry
A weary Aboriginal leader is not ready to put his feet up for good after walking halfway across the state to shine a light on its dark colonial past. A crowd of thousands greeted Travis Lovett outside Victorian parliament on Wednesday as he finished his 508km walk from Portland, where colonisation began in the state in 1834. More than 12,000 people joined him along the 25-day Walk for Truth, which represented the end of the long-running Yoorrook Justice Commission. With both feet freed of his shoes, the Yoorrook commissioner and deputy chair became emotional when talking about the toll the journey has taken. "The body has been sore," he told reporters. "I've had my moments where my feet have been sitting in the same shoes for nine hours straight, but that is nothing compared to what our people have been through. "We don't ask for sympathy but we ask people to open their minds and open their hearts to the full lived experience of our people here." Yoorrook is Australia's first first formal, Indigenous-led truth-telling process. It was established in 2021 to create a public record of Indigenous experiences since colonisation and its ongoing impacts on Aboriginal people. The inquiry has held dozens of public hearings, gathering the testimony of Stolen Generations survivors, elders, historians, experts and non-Indigenous advocates. Mr Lovett said it had ended the silence and laid the foundation for tangible change. "It's not about blame, it's about the truth," he told the crowd while foreshadowing future walks through other parts of the state. "Our old people didn't fight for sorrow, they fought so that we might live well." An interim report by Yoorrook called for wholesale changes to Victoria's criminal justice and child protection systems, but the state government only fully committed to implement six of 43 recommendations. Its final report is expected to be handed to the governor in coming days. Chair Eleanor Bourke has flagged it will contain more than 100 recommendations, including some that can be actioned immediately and others as part of a statewide treaty. Premier Jacinta Allan, who was presented with a message stick carried the full length of the walk, said the official public record would be critical to treaty talks. "You can't have treaty without truth - they go together," she said. Treaty negotiations between the state government and First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria kicked off in late 2024. Details have been vague on exactly what is on the table but an update on Wednesday confirmed parties discussed Yoorrook's public record becoming a possible resource for teachers. Assembly co-chair Rueben Berg suggested a statewide agreement could be reached later in 2025, ahead of Victorians heading to the polls in November 2026. "First people's decisions should be made by first people's - that's what we're working towards here in Victoria," he said. The Victorian Liberal opposition withdrew its support for a statewide treaty in 2024 following the failed national voice to federal parliament referendum. If and when an agreement is struck, legislation must pass both houses of state parliament for the treaty to be ticked off.
Sky News AU
6 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Embattled NSW Liberal committee undergoes major shake-up, as moderates reassert dominance whilst fending off unexpected bid from Tony Abbott
The beleaguered NSW Liberal state committee has been purged, with ex-Victorian Senator Richard Alston and former Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale dumped as administrators of the branch after a string controversies and gaffes. The federal executive met on Tuesday afternoon and voted 20 votes to one on the new leadership panel proposed by federal Liberal leader Sussan Ley and her NSW counterpart Mark Speakman. The meeting concluded that the bruised division would remain in administration until next March with former NSW Premier Nick Greiner installed as the independent chair to oversee the seven-person state executive committee for the next nine months. Ms Ley selected former state MP Peta Seaton as her delegate on the committee, while Mr Speakman appointed barrister and outspoken moderate Jane Buncle. It is also understood that multiple members of the NSW right faction lobbied for former Prime Minister Tony Abbott to be appointed to the committee, however the move was resoundingly voted down by the executive. The meeting's rejection of Abbott's bid resulted in a tense factional dispute between moderates and the right. Numerous Liberal right figures labelled the new group the "committee of management" and attacked party bosses for establishing an executive stacked with staunch social moderates and soft-right forces led by factional leader federal MP Alex Hawke. One anonymous conservative Liberal described the outcome as a "Hawke/Moderate intervention' and told The Daily Telegraph, 'their mission will be to prevent reform from happening.' 'If the rules of the party mean that Hawke and the Moderates are always in charge, what incentive do they have to change the rules?' The new committee will include Mark Baillie who will serve as treasurer, James Owen, Peter O'Hanlon and Berenice Walker who is also the President of the NSW Women's Council. The result means that Victorian Liberal elders Alan Stockdale and Richard Alston will be axed as interim administrators, after former federal Liberal leader Peter Dutton announced a 10-month takeover of the NSW branch and installed a three-person oversight panel due to the 2024 council nomination blunder. Mr Stockdale's tenure was viewed as unsustainable by a myriad of NSW Liberal figures after the veteran politician stated at a gathering of the NSW Liberal Women's Council that women had become 'sufficiently assertive' and that reverse quotas for men were needed. Multiple Liberal insiders told the Sydney Morning Herald Mr Stockdale was vocal in his opposition of Ms Walker being appointed to the committee. Ms Walker had previously railed against the party's direction under Mr Stockdale's leadership, with the women's council passing a motion on May 25 conveying their 'firm and formal opposition to any extension of the federal intervention'. Ms Seaton was the only member of the interim panel who survived the restructure. The singular vote against Ley and Speakman's committee was Charlie Taylor, the brother of shadow defence minister Angus Taylor who recently lost the Liberal leadership ballot, Liberal sources told the Sydney Morning Herald. A Liberal source told the Daily Telegraph that NSW members had 'reclaimed the party back from Victoria'. 'The Victorian division is sinking fast and we want nothing to do with that Titanic,' the unnamed source added. The meeting also appointed former NSW state minister Pru Goward and former federal minister and factional powerbroker Nick Minchin to lead a review into the Liberal's thumping 2025 federal election defeat. Ms Goward and Mr Minchin are set to investigate the Coalition's tumultuous election campaign and the last term of parliament under former opposition leader Peter Dutton and provide recommendations about how the party can best reclaim the litany of seats lost to both the Teals and the Labor Party. They are also expected to scrutinise the centralised nature of Liberal campaign HQ in the lead-up to the election, of which numerous Coalition figures have spoken out against since the overwhelming defeat.
