Beyond Pesutto, What About the Media’s Role in the Deeming Defamation Case?

Independent MP Moira Deeming (centre) speaks to media outside the Federal Court of Australia in Melbourne, Australia on Dec. 12, 2024. AAP Image/Joel Carrett

News Analysis

A lawyer says media outlets should also be responsible for sparking the two-year-long Moira Deeming drama that resulted in a major defamation case against Victoria’s former opposition leader.

Tony Nikolic, a defamation and criminal lawyer at Ashley, Francina, Leonard and Associates (AFL), said Deeming v Pesutto was a cautionary tale on how “unchecked media narratives” can be “weaponised to attack reputations, manipulate the truth, coerce, and intimidate rivals.”

The Events

In 2022, Deeming attended the women’s rights event, “Let Women Speak,” in Melbourne.

The event, headlined by UK women’s rights activist Posie Parker, was gatecrashed by a group of men dressed in black performing Nazi salutes.

The label “neo-Nazi” soon stuck, and Deeming was also swept up in the subsequent media storm while being branded a Nazi affiliate.

Now-former Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto was quick to condemn Deeming publicly, and she was promptly expelled from the Liberal partyroom, while remaining an MP of the party.

This month, she won a defamation action against Pesutto, triggering a series of events that eventually led to his removal from the Victorian Liberal leadership.

The case itself, saw Pesutto slapped with a $300,000 penalty by the Federal Court of Australia to be paid to Deeming.

Deeming Linked to Nazi Movement

Pesutto’s decision to discipline Deeming came after extensive media coverage of the Let Women Speak rally, which was quick to link Deeming to the all-male neo-Nazi group, as well as branding her a “Nazi sympathiser.”

Nikolic said the actions of media outlets raised “serious ethical and legal concerns,” noting that defamation cases of public figures often came at a cost for taxpayers.

“Perhaps one way is to hold public and political parties accountable for serious misconduct in public office, while journalists engaging in this type of behaviour should be disciplined too.”

The presiding Justice David O'Callaghan said terms like “Nazi” and “Nazi sympathiser” were used to label Deeming and affect her reputation.

“There was always a need for Mr. Pesutto to take care not to convey, by the use of loose or careless language, the impression that she was a Nazi, a Nazi sympathiser, a neo-Nazi or that she associated with such people, whether in considered documents like the media release or in the heat of the moment of the media interviews,” the judge said.

“But he did not take such care.”

Media Outlets Jumped the Gun: Lawyer

Nikolic said media outlets were quick to pump out stories aligning with the controversy surrounding Posie Parker, the women’s rights movement, and its opposition to transgender participation in women’s sports or activities.

“In Deeming’s case, defamatory media coverage aligned with a broader political narrative, suggesting coordinated efforts to undermine her credibility,” Nikolic said. Deeming has espoused strong conservative viewpoints.

“The resulting litigation exposed how strategic media reporting can escalate into costly legal battles,” the lawyer said.

Nikolic also said media outlets needed to maintain integrity and avoid politically motivated reporting, warning it can cause “individual harm but also erode public trust in the press.”

Legal reforms should ensure equal accountability for all actors, including major media outlets, Nikolic says.

“Media independence should not mean immunity or exemptions from legal accountability.”