Key posts
The court has now adjourned until tomorrow morning.
In case you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know:
- John Pesutto’s barrister, Matthew Collins, KC, gave his opening remarks. He insisted that Deeming knew Pesutto wanted an inclusive Liberal Party and, despite this and mainstream media coverage of the controversy surrounding UK activist Kellie-Jay Keen, she went ahead and helped organise the 2023 Let Women Speak rally in Melbourne. Collins said Deeming should have known it would have been a “disaster”.
- Collins went on to tell the court that Pesutto’s case was not that Deeming, or any of the Let Women Speak organisers, invited neo-Nazis who turned up to that rally. Instead, he said, it was a fact that the neo-Nazis repeatedly claimed they were there to support and protect the rally – whether the rally organisers liked it or not. He concluded his opening statement by insisting …