O’Callaghan found Pesutto had defamed Deeming in a media release, one radio and one TV interview, at a press conference and in an expulsion motion and dossier.
O’Callaghan said that while Pesutto had defended the case on the grounds of public interest, honest opinion and qualified privilege, all those failed and the defence of contextual truth did not arise.
John Pesutto and Moira Deeming outside the Federal Court during the defamation trial.Credit: The Age
He said Pesutto failed to take care with his language in interviews and a press conference while “bandying around” words.
“Whether he intended to convey the imputations that I have found were carried or not, the risk of those serious meanings being conveyed about Mrs Deeming necessitated that he take care to ensure that the factual matters upon which he sought to base his explanation as to why he proposed to move for Mrs Deeming’s expulsion had proper …