Moira Deeming wins defamation case against John Pesutto, judge ...

Ousted Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming says she expects to rejoin the party room after winning her defamation case against Opposition Leader John Pesutto.

Ms Deeming brought the lawsuit against Mr Pesutto, alleging he had defamed her as a Nazi sympathiser in the wake of an anti-trans-rights rally on the steps of Victorian parliament last year that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.

In the aftermath of the rally, Mr Pesutto failed in a bid to have Ms Deeming booted from the parliamentary Liberal Party — she was instead suspended for nine months.

Moira Deeming and John Pesutto pictured together weeks before the rally which eventuated in her suspension. (Facebook)

Ms Deeming was eventually expelled from the parliamentary party last May, after threatening legal action against Mr Pesutto. She remains a member of the broader Liberal Party.

On Thursday, Federal Court judge David O'Callaghan ruled Mr Pesutto had defamed Ms Deeming on multiple occasions, including in radio and TV interviews which "caused or is likely to cause serious harm to her reputation".

"The imputation found to be conveyed is that Mrs Deeming associates with Nazis and is thus unfit to be a member of the parliamentary Liberal Party," Justice O'Callaghan said of an interview Mr Pesutto did with radio station 3AW in the wake of the rally last year.

"With respect to the ABC interview, the imputation found to be conveyed is that Mrs Deeming knowingly associates or sympathises with Neo Nazis and white supremacists, and is thus unfit to be a member of the parliamentary Liberal Party and Liberal Party."

Justice O'Callaghan told the court Mr Pesutto had also defamed Ms Deeming during a press conference following the Let Women Speak rally, hosted by international anti-trans-rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen.

"In respect of the press conference, the imputation found to be conveyed is that Mrs Deeming participated in a rally and knowingly worked with Ms Keen and other organisers to help them promote their odious Nazi agenda and their white supremacist and ethno-fascist views," Justice O'Callaghan read.

Moira Deeming says she is "delighted" by the result. (AAP: Joel Carrett)

He said the $300,000 awarded to Ms Deeming was for non-economic losses.

Another court hearing will be scheduled in the coming days to decide how much will be ordered in costs, and who will pay that bill.

Deeming 'delighted' by court's verdict

In a press conference after the judgement, Ms Deeming said she was "unjustly expelled" from the Liberal Party and expected she would return.

"It makes sense to me that that would happen. I don't know what they're actually going to do" she said.

"I have every right to be there, I did nothing wrong. All the accusations made about me, they were just disproven in court."

When asked about whether Mr Pesutto should resign as the leader of the Victorian Liberal Party, Ms Deeming said while it was not her call, she did not think he had "proven himself trustworthy".

"I don't understand, even politically, why all these things happen the way they did," she said.

"I still believe in this party. If you look at the Liberal Party platform, they are good values."

Ms Deeming thanked those who had stood by her.

"I'm grateful to the court for its careful and prompt consideration of my case, and to my lawyers who I cannot adequately thank for their skill and their passion and their integrity," she said.

"Thank you also to all of those who stood by me and defended me, despite the personal and political differences regardless of the cost."

She said her fight for "sex-based rights" would continue.

"Those of us in this fight to restore parental rights, sex-based rights, for women and safeguards for children, we are in every political party, we are in every workplace, every union, every family," she said.

"We will never run out of energy, we will never be crushed, and we are going to survive whatever it is that you want to throw at us — and then we will win."

Pesutto vows to stay on as Liberal leader

In the wake of the Federal Court decision, Mr Pesutto's Victorian Liberal party colleagues were discussing whether he could stay on as leader after the defeat.

"It's hard to see how he can survive this,'' one senior Liberal MP told the ABC.

But on Thursday afternoon, Mr Pesutto insisted he would remain as opposition leader.

"I've always been a fighter. That's why I'll continue in this role," he said.

He said Ms Deeming's potential re-entry into the party room was up to its members.

"Decisions like that are not matters for me alone," he said.

"It's a matter always for the party room."

The Federal Court judge found Mr Pesutto defamed Ms Deeming multiple times. (AAP/James Ross, file photo)

The three-week-long defamation trial aired covert recordings of partyroom conversations, highlighting a culture of mistrust within the Liberal Party.

But some senior MPs and party figures are urging calm, saying Mr Pesutto must stay on as leader so the party can be in a position to win the 2026 election.

Former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett said Mr Pesutto deserved the support of his partyroom colleagues, as he was "only representing the party views".

"I think like a lot of people on our side were shocked and we're glad it's over," Mr Kennett said.

"I think it will be a test for the whole party."

Some MPs want Ms Deeming returned to the party room as soon as possible.

Mr Pesutto is expected to address media at 2:30pm.

Mr Pesutto was, in 2023, trying to send a message to Victorian voters that he wanted to lead a focused, centrist opposition.

But the saga has caused fury among Liberal MPs and branch members who believe Ms Deeming has a right to campaign on sensitive gender issues, which she refers to as "sex-based rights".

Ms Deeming has had backing from senior conservative figures, including Tony Abbott's former chief of staff, Sky News host Peta Credlin.

'Dossier' circulated by Pesutto central to defamation claim

In March last year, Ms Deeming had helped to organise the anti-trans-rights rally outside parliament, which was gatecrashed by a group of neo-Nazis.

"Over the following days, Mr Pesutto undertook a relentless and ongoing campaign," Ms Deeming's lawyer Sue Chrysanthou SC told the Federal Court.

Moira Deeming (right) pictured with her lawyer during the defamation hearing. (AAP: James Ross)

That campaign, Ms Chrysanthou said, involved a "dossier" of documents sourced largely from social media and the web.

Ms Chrysanthou said that campaign was to convince fellow parliamentarians, the media and the public that Ms Deeming was associated with Nazis, their sympathisers and people who shared platforms with white supremacists.

Trial shines spotlight on turmoil within Liberal Party

The day after the Let Women Speak rally, which its supporters characterised as a women's rights event, Ms Deeming was chastised by Mr Pesutto and ordered into a meeting.

"My concerns about yesterday … is that the arrival of the, I will call them, Nazi protesters," Mr Pesutto could be heard telling Ms Deeming on a recording, played to the court.

The meeting had been secretly taped by fellow Liberal MP David Southwick. Also at that meeting were MPs Georgie Crozier and Matthew Bach, who has since quit the parliament and moved to the UK.

(L - R) David Southwick, John Pesutto, Georgie Crozier and Matt Bach were all present at a secretly taped meeting with Moira Deeming. (AAP. Joel Carrett)

"The Nazi protesters arrive and whether you like it or not, when the media and everybody looking at it, whether we like it or not, whether we dispute it vehemently or not, when the media see that, they see them attached to you," Mr Pesutto continued.

"We've got a problem, a huge problem now, because people think, rightly or wrongly, that we walk in lock-step with Nazi protesters and Nazis.

"I'm getting clobbered."

In that recording, Ms Deeming could be heard telling her colleagues she had been shocked to discover the event had been gatecrashed by a group of neo-Nazis.

"The first time I saw them doing the Nazi salute was when they were being ushered by the police through the middle of the zone," Ms Deeming said on the recording.

"I was thinking, 'oh my gosh, there are Nazis here, that's terrible, but at least the police are taking them away'.

"Very obviously, I'm not a Nazi and I don't support Nazis."

That recorded conversation was one of several played to the court throughout the trial, including a recording by Ms Deeming of another meeting.

Deeming's links with anti-trans-rights activist examined

The Let Women Speak rally held in March featured prominent UK-based anti-trans-rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen, also known as Posie Parker.

Ms Deeming appeared in a video before the rally escorting Ms Keen through the back of the parliament precinct.

After the rally, she drank champagne with Ms Keen on a video streamed on YouTube.

Moira Deeming (left) helped organise a rally involving anti-trans-rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (right) in Melbourne. (YouTube)

"Were you aware in Perth, protesters cried 'Posie Parker, you can't hide, you've got Nazis on your side?'" Mr Pesutto's lawyer Matt Collins KC asked Ms Deeming during the trial.

Mr Collins was referring to a rally in Western Australia, which took place in the lead-up to the Melbourne event.

"No," Ms Deeming responded from the witness stand.

Mr Collins also asked Ms Deeming whether she was aware Ms Keen was criticised for speaking alongside a member of far-right group the Proud Boys at a rally in the US in 2022.

In 2021, the Proud Boys found infamy after members were involved in the January 6 storming of the Capitol in Washington DC.

"I never heard these things until Mr Pesutto put them forward," Ms Deeming responded.

Pesutto previously settled defamation case with activists

In May, Mr Pesutto published an apology after settling two defamation cases brought against him by Ms Keen and fellow activist Angie Jones.

In his statement, he said he had never believed or intended to assert that Ms Keen and Ms Jones were neo-Nazis.

He added it was clear from subsequent public statements made by Ms Keen and Ms Jones that they shared his belief that Nazism was odious and contemptible.

The two women welcomed the apology at the time, with Ms Keen saying "women throughout Australia should feel a little safer speaking about their fears in public".

"Open debate is a sign of a truly vibrant and stable democracy and Pesutto's apology is a step in the right direction," Ms Keen said at the time.