Moira Deeming ‘determined to be brave’ by attending controversial rally despite security threats, defamation trial hears

Ousted Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming says she was "determined to be brave" and attend a "Let Women Speak" rally in 2023 despite warnings of security threats, the federal court has heard.

Deeming, who began her second day of cross-examination on Wednesday , told the court that she was alerted during the Melbourne event that there were "men in black" nearby but was not aware they had performed the Nazi salute until after the rally.

Deeming is suing the state Liberal leader, John Pesutto, for allegedly falsely portraying her as a Nazi sympathiser after she helped organise and spoke at the 18 March 2023 protest that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis. She was expelled from the party less than two months later after initially being suspended.

During cross-examination by Pesutto's barrister, Matthew Collins KC, the courtroom was shown an email Deeming had written to parliament's security services on 14 March 2023 requesting security to be on site for the event to let her back into parliament "in an emergency'". She also requested extra security guards.

"Police and security services have alerted me to personal and group threats from counter protests at the listening post on Saturday, which I am attending on parliament house steps," she wrote.

Deeming clarified she had been informed about the threats from Melbourne woman Angela Jones, a co-organiser of the rally which took place outside state parliament.

The security team replied saying that they did not provide personal protection for MPs but would contact police. "Mrs Deeming, this did not set [off] alarm bells in your mind that this was always going to be controversial and divisive?," Collins asked the MP on Wednesday.

Deeming said she agreed it was going to be controversial but rejected the characterisation of the rally as divisive.

"Knowing there were threats from counter-protesters, in some way, made me more determined to be brave and to go," she said.

Deeming told the court she had been informed during the rally there "men in black" at the rally.

"Someone told me there was a horrible sign. They said they'd tried to ask police to make them leave," she said.

Deeming said she was told there was "nothing we could do" and the group "just got back to our rally".

"I didn't know they had done the Nazi salute," she said.

On Tuesday, the court was played audio from a secretly recorded meeting that took place a day after Deeming spoke at the rally, during which she repeatedly told Pesutto and members of the Liberal party's leadership team she was not a Nazi.

Deeming is heard defending herself in the recording and saying: "Very obviously, I'm not a Nazi and I don't support Nazis."

Pesutto told Deeming in the recording that her attendance at the rally was "toxic" for the party and said it had created a "very concerning perception" that the Victorian Liberals were "associated with Nazis".

At the end of the recording, Pesutto informed Deeming he would move a motion to expel her.

On Monday, Deeming's barrister, Sue Chrysanthou SC, said there were multiple protest groups near the steps of parliament on the day of the Let Women Speak rally. She said the neo-Nazis were a separate group and were speaking over the rally's speeches to detract from their messages.

The event was co-organised by gender-critical UK activist Kellie-Jay Keen, also known as Posie Parker, as part of her tour of Australia and New Zealand in which it was claimed that the push for transgender rights was silencing, and discriminating against, women.

Deeming has alleged that Pesutto defamed her in media releases, press conferences and interviews he gave after the rally.

In his defence document, Pesutto argued that 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".

He admitted to conveying some imputations, including that Deeming associated with speakers at the event who had "known links with neo-Nazis and white supremacists".

In court documents, Pesutto said he would rely on the defences of honest opinion, contextual truth, public interest and qualified privilege.

The defamation trial is expected to run for three weeks.