Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto has apologised to UK activist Kellie-Jay Keen and Melbourne-based gender critical feminist Angela Jones for “any hurt, distress or harm that has occurred” as a result of his comments being “misunderstood as conveying” that he believed them to be neo-Nazis or members of neo-Nazi groups. The apology, in a lengthy and carefully worded statement published on Mr Pesutto’s website, comes after the Opposition Leader reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with the two women, who had joined expelled Liberal Moira Deeming in suing him for defamation. Mrs Deeming continues to pursue her case against Mr Pesutto, over comments he made as he moved to expel her from the parliamentary party in the wake of a March 2023 “Let Women Speak” rally she organised with Ms Keen and Ms Jones, which was gate-crashed by neo-Nazis who performed the Nazi salute on the steps of state parliament.
Mrs Deeming said the settlements with Ms Keen and Ms Jones would have “no impact” on her decision to continue legal action, with a two-week trial set to proceed in the Federal Court next month. She said Mr Pesutto “did not approach” her with the offer he had made to Ms Keen and Ms Jones. Ms Keen and Ms Jones have both issued statements in response to Mr Pesutto’s apology, with Ms Keen thanking the Liberal leader for what she described as a “full and magnanimous” apology and expressing the hope that it would make Australian women feel more comfortable about expressing views they may have about sex-based rights and the medical treatment of children experiencing confusion over their gender. Ms Jones thanked Mr Pesutto for “setting the record straight” and said she hoped society was entering a political climate where women could advocate “for the reinstatement of our sex-based human rights” without “misrepresentation”. Both women have been represented by Brisbane-based law firm Alexander Rashidi Lawyers, and lawyer Katherine Deves, outspoken critic of recent changes to laws and policies relating to transgender people.
Ms Deves said the firm was “very pleased to have achieved an outcome favourable to our clients, Kellie-Jay Keen and Angela Jones. “They look forward to moving on with their lives and continuing their fight for women’s sex-based rights.” The terms of the settlement they have reached with Mr Pesutto are confidential, and it is understood all parties have signed nondisclosure agreements, preventing them from commenting on the extent of any payment the Opposition Leader may have had to make to reach a deal. In avoiding going to court, all three parties have saved themselves the risk of legal costs which could have amounted to millions of dollars, as well as the spectacle of what was likely to be a hard-fought and publicly damaging battle for all concerned. Mr Pesutto — who is being represented by leading defamation lawyer Peter Bartlett and top silk Matt Collins KC — continues to face the prospect of an expensive and destructive legal contest against Mrs Deeming, whose equally formidable legal team includes lawyer Patrick George and barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC.
In a concerns notice issued last year as part of the case she has now dropped against Mr Pesutto, Ms Keen accused the Liberal leader of making “grossly misconceived, wilfully vexatious, and wretchedly false” claims, which she argued had seen her become the target of “extreme hate, abuse, harassment, and stalking”, and culminated in her “being physically attacked” and “placed in life threatening danger” at a Let Women Speak rally in New Zealand, which followed the Melbourne event. Ms Keen’s case centred upon a highly controversial 15-page dossier Mr Pesutto’s office circulated ahead of the Liberal party-room meeting at which Mrs Deeming was suspended following the Melbourne rally. The dossier contained social media screenshots and media reports — mostly relating to Ms Keen — and used them to accuse the MP of “organising, promoting and participating in a rally with speakers and other organisers who have been publicly associated with far right-wing extremist groups including neo-Nazi activists.”
Ms Keen and Ms Jones’s cases also relied upon interviews Mr Pesutto gave to the ABC’s 7.30 program and to then 3AW mornings host Neil Mitchell, both of which were conducted as he moved to expel Mrs Deeming. The ABC was in March forced to publish a clarification after reaching a confidential settlement with Ms Keen, conceding that viewers of the 7.30 interview “may have understood the interview to suggest” that Ms Keen “has associations with neo-Nazis”. In the Mitchell interview, Mr Pesutto said Mrs Deeming had “associations, Neil, with organisations, with organisers of Saturday’s protest who have known links with Nazis, Nazi sympathisers, far right extremists, white supremacists.” Asked who he was referring to, Mr Pesutto said: “Kellie-Jay Keen.” “And she’s had associations with, she’s got associations with Nazis?” Mitchell asked, to which Mr Pesutto responded: “Absolutely.” In his statement, Mr Pesutto described Ms Keen and Ms Jones as “passionate women’s rights activists with long histories of advocacy in Australia and internationally.”
“I agree with them that genuine community concerns regarding women’s safety and access to single-sex spaces, services and sport warrant meaningful public discussion,” the Liberal leader said. He said he strongly believed in the “inherent dignity and worth of all people,” as expressed in the Liberal Party platform. “A Liberal Party I lead will never tolerate hateful and divisive rhetoric, nor abide by Neo-Nazism, white supremacy or other extremist ideologies,” Mr Pesutto said. “I also believe that all public figures have a responsibility to denounce such extremism in all its forms. I do not believe that it is appropriate to knowingly associate or share platforms with individuals who hold or express these extremist views. I also believe that there is no room to be blithe or cavalier in the face of Neo-Nazism. “I have never believed or intended to assert that Kellie-Jay Keen and Angela Jones are neo-Nazis. It is also now clear from public statements made by Ms Keen and Ms Jones that they share my belief that Nazism is odious and contemptible.”
Mr Pesutto said people “engaged in robust public debate” did not always have “the ability to express themselves perfectly.” “This is one reason that we should give those we may disagree with some benefit of the doubt,” he said. “I recognise that there have been times when my comments could have more clearly differentiated between the organisers of the 18 March 2023 Let Women Speak Rally and the neo-Nazis who attended the steps of Parliament House on that day. “It has never been my intention to convey that I believed Ms Keen and Ms Jones to be neo-Nazis, or that they were members of neo-Nazi groups. As far as my comments may have been misunderstood as conveying that I believed this to be the case, I apologise for any hurt, distress or harm that has occurred.” Mr Pesutto said he implored all participants in public debate, including online, to behave with respect and decency. “I condemn the use of threats, intimidation and abusive language, particularly misogynistic, vile and explicit language that has no place in our society,” he said.
“I reiterate my condemnation of the neo-Nazis who attended the steps of Parliament House on 18 March 2023. There is a place for meaningful and sincere public discussion of women’s safety and women’s rights, but there is no place for neo-Nazis in Victoria or the Victorian Liberal Party.” Ms Keen said she was “delighted” Mr Pesutto had offered “such a full and magnanimous apology for the effect his statements have had on me.” “I hope women throughout Australia should feel a little safer speaking about their fears in public,” she said, listing “fears about men’s unfettered access to women’s spaces; their fears about the erasure of women’s rights and language and their fears regarding the medical abuse of children, euphemistically coined ‘gender affirming care’.” “Open debate is a sign of a truly vibrant and stable democracy and Pesutto’s apology is a step in the right direction.” Ms Jones thanked Mr Pesutto for “setting the record straight.” “I hope we are entering a political climate where women can advocate for the reinstatement of our sex based human rights, and sex specific safeguarding, equitably and without misrepresentation or intimidation,” she tweeted.
Source: Compiled by APN from media reports
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