Women can speak?
Opposition Leader John Pesutto has settled defamation actions launched against him by two women who joined a controversial rally on the steps of state parliament that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis last year.
The private settlements – with UK anti-trans rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen and Melbourne woman Angela Jones – leave Pesutto to fight just one defamation action in the Federal Court, brought by exiled Liberal MP Moira Deeming.
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Keen and Jones alleged Pesutto defamed them in an effort to have Deeming removed from the Liberal party room, after the three women helped organise the Let Women Speak rally that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis outside parliament in March last year.
The women all alleged Pesutto defamed them by suggesting they were associated with far-right extremists, which Pesutto has denied. He has always said he would defend the claims.
Deeming had initially survived a motion to expel her from the parliamentary Liberal Party in the days after the Let Women Speak rally. She was suspended from the party room in a compromise deal but was ultimately expelled in the fallout in May last year.
For the crime of defending women’s rights.
Keen told radio station 3AW in March that she was ultimately seeking an apology.
“Whilst he said these things about me, what he’s actually doing is trying to tell all women that they really do have to shut up,” she said while preparing to launch the court action. “That is what is happening everywhere. And so I would like a full and frank apology.”
And here she is saying she got one.
While I am pleased KJK and Angie have had a result, I would have preferred to see this played out in court. Far worse than anything Pesutto said is the infiltration of far-right extremism in the upper ranks of VicPol. It would have been good to have had this scrutinised under oath.
The Black Pampers who attempted the intimidation of women at the rally have VicPol protection. At least two of their leaders are sons of high ranking VicPol officers.
If you look carefully at photos you will see them all wearing wristbands with the contact details of those VicPol officers, just in case some lowly copper decides to do his duty and makes an arrest.
Rev David Brindley #1
I always had my doubts about the authenticity of the “nazis” that showed up. I mean, a bunch of guys all young and slim – no older men in the group at all. They looked like the dance troupe had escaped from a high school production of The Producers. The other odd thing was that all of the lefty mob, you know, those who supposedly hate nazis, said and did absolutely nothing to these guys. The cops left them totally alone. Almost like both lefties and cops knew this was some kind of set-up to make it seem like Kellie-Jay and the woman were supported by bad people.
Good grief. I did not know that.
Southwest88, that’s why I and others refer to them as the Black Pampers.
I don’t live in Melbourne so am not up with the very latest, but for a few years, they have been a regular feature any any protest. It doesn’t matter what the cause is, they will try to inject themselves into it. Left. Right. Up. Down. It doesn’t matter, as long as they can be visible.
Ophelia, here is one news article.
https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/activists-expose-disturbing-past-of-young-aussie-neonazi/news-story/6b2a537ff2b974f4ddfc4e5a0e26d5d9