Ousted Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming has been grilled in court over whether she was aware a member of far-right group the Proud Boys had spoken at a US Let Women Speak rally, before she helped to organise one on the steps of state parliament in Melbourne.
Ms Deeming started the third day of her defamation trial against Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto under cross examination, facing questions about the role she played in organising the anti-trans-rights rally in Melbourne last year.
Ms Deeming is suing Mr Pesutto over comments he made allegedly linking her to neo-Nazis, and suggestions she had associations with Nazis — which Ms Deeming vehemently denies.
The March rally, which supporters categorised as a women's rights event, featured UK anti-trans-rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen, also known as Posie Parker, and was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.
"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, talking about a rally which took place in the lead-up to the Melbourne event.
"No," Ms Deeming, who was last year ousted from the parliamentary Liberal Party and now sits on the upper house crossbench, responded.
Mr Pesutto's lawyer questioned Ms Deeming about her relationship with Ms Keen, and other anti-trans-rights activists behind Let Women Speak rallies.
At a similar Let Women Speak rally in the United States, the court head Ms Keen shared the stage with a member of the Proud Boys — a group which had become notorious after members were involved in the January 6 storming of the Capitol in Washington DC.
"Sharing the stage with her, assisting the organising with her, appearing in a video after the rally — you were associated very closely with Mrs Keen," Mr Collins put to Ms Deeming, to which she replied yes.
"When did you first become aware that there were public allegations that Mrs Keen had shared platforms with far-right extremists?" Mr Collins asked.
"I never heard these things until Mr Pesutto put them forward," Ms Deeming responded.
Ms Deeming is suing Mr Pesutto (pictured) for defamation after he linked her appearance at an anti-trans-rights rally to a group of neo-Nazi gate crashers. (AAP: James Ross)
The court heard Ms Deeming had organised a sound system, booked the steps of state parliament for the rally and was aware there were security concerns in the lead-up to the March 2023 event.
In an email shown to the court, Ms Deeming had written to Victoria's parliamentary services asking for security support.
"Police and security services have alerted me to personal and group threats from counter protesters at the listening post on Saturday, which I am attending, on Parliament House Steps," she wrote in an email.
In audio played to the court yesterday, of a meeting with the Liberal Leadership team the day after the rally was gatecrashed, Ms Deeming could be heard telling Mr Pesutto on separate occasions that she didn't organise the event, and wasn't the main organiser of the event.
"Did you not see it prudent to do some research into what was happening at Let Women Speak rallies?" Mr Collins asked Ms Deeming.
Ms Deeming responded that MPs were always helping community groups and attending rallies.
"I considered standing for women at Let Women Speak rallies to be a positive movement," she said.
Describing the rally as "controversial" Ms Deeming repeatedly told the court she did not know what she had told her boss, and Liberal Party leader Mr Pesutto, about her role in organising the rally.