Suspended Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming has given Opposition Leader John Pesutto an ultimatum to issue a media statement making it clear that he does not believe she is a Nazi or Nazi sympathiser by 2pm on Thursday afternoon, or face legal action.
The threat follows Ms Deeming’s nine-month suspension from the party which was agreed to by both parties in late March, after Ms Deeming had spoken at a Let Women Speak rally which was gatecrashed by Nazis.
Notes from the meeting, which have this week become the subject of controversy, state that the party agreed upon a compromise following Mr Pesutto’s attempt to expel her, which would involve the issuing of a media statement to “make it clear that no one was accusing Moira of being a Nazi, or Nazi sympathiser.”
The resolution followed the wide circulation to media by Mr Pesutto’s office of material attempting to link women with whom Ms Deeming spoke at the rally, including British anti-transgender rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen, also known as Posie Parker, with Nazis and other right wing extremists.
In an email sent to Mr Pesutto on Thursday morning, Ms Deeming indicated she did not believe Mr Pesutto had kept to the agreement.
“As I have made clear from the day John emailed the entire partyroom with the allegations against me, my principle priority has been to have my name cleared for the sake of my children,” Ms Deeming said in the letter.
Read the article by Rachel Baxendale in The Australian.