Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones, But Legal Costs Will Absolutely Ruin You

By Blake Ward

I’m currently writing a research piece on the favourite sport of Australian politicians: suing people for defamation. Think of this article as a sneak peek.

For the blissfully unaware, our elected representatives have a curious habit of sprinting to the courthouse at the faintest whiff of reputational injury.

Peter Dutton sued an activist over a tweet.¹ John Barilaro went after a YouTuber who labelled him, among other things, a ‘Greasy Ned Kelly’.² And Joe Hockey took on Fairfax for calling him a ‘treasurer for sale’.[3] It seems our politicians would rather let a judge handle their image problems than, say, face public scrutiny like everyone else.

But one case stands out as particularly absurd: John Pesutto, former Victorian Opposition Leader, has been ordered to cough up a $2.3 million costs bill after losing a defamation case brought by his on-again-off-again colleague Moira Deeming.⁴ Here’s the SparkNotes version: Deeming sued over comments Pesutto made in press releases and media appearances following her involvement in the ‘Let Women Speak’ rally. That rally, unfortunately for all involved, attracted some neo-Nazis. Now, to be clear, there’s no suggestion that Deeming was associated with them — but the alleged link was enough to get things rolling in defamation land. Pesutto, for his part, booted her from the Liberal Party. Fast forward through some courtroom drama, and Justice O’Callaghan found Pesutto had defamed her⁵ and back into the party room she went.⁶ Pesutto, meanwhile, didn’t just lose the case — he lost the Liberal leadership too,⁷ and has since been reduced to tin-rattling to cover his eye-watering legal bills,⁸ a political downfall almost Shakespearean in its scale (if Shakespeare had written about defamation and factional backstabbing in Victorian state politics).

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[1] Bazzi v Dutton (2022) 289 FCR 1

[2] Barilaro v Google LLC [2022] FCA 650, [42].

[3] Hockey v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (2015) 237 FCR 33, [2].

[4] Order of Legge JR in Deeming v Pesutto (Federal Court of Australia, VID1023/2023, 16 May 2025) [130].

[5] Deeming v Pesutto (No 3) [2024] FCA 1430.

[6] David Wu and Amy Roulston, ‘Moira Deeming readmitted to Liberal party room one week after failed motion, receives apology from John Pesutto’, Sky News (online, 27 December 2024) <https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/moira-deeming-readmitted-to-liberal-party-room-one-week-after-failed-motion-in-wake-of-john-pesutto-losing-defamation-case/news-story/47244881744c9ac592936f1fae80c85e&gt;.

[7] Ibid.

[8] ‘Urgent support to help our friend John Pesutto’, GoFundMe (Web Page) <https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-help-our-friend-john-pesutto&gt;.

Now, without getting too deep into the merits of Deeming’s case (and, frankly, risking a visit from the legal ghosts of Christmas future), let’s consider the bigger picture: should politicians really be suing people for criticising them?

I’d argue no. In fact, I’d argue hell no.

Pesutto, as party leader, had every right — and arguably a duty — to explain to both his colleagues and the public why he was expelling Deeming. Her constituents deserved an explanation. The public deserved transparency. And the Liberal Party’s values deserved to be clarified. But instead of robust political debate, we got a courtroom showdown and a multi-million-dollar bill.

What really takes the defamation cake, though, is that Pesutto might actually be booted from Parliament — not by voters, not by scandal, but by bankruptcy. Yes, the man once anointed to lead the Liberals is now teetering on the edge of financial oblivion, courtesy of a courtroom brawl that left him $2.3 million poorer and one leadership position lighter.⁹ If the insolvency rules kick in,¹⁰ Hawthorn’s elected rep may have to pack up his desk not because of misconduct or corruption, but because he dared speak — and lost spectacularly. Democracy, it seems, now comes with an asterisk: terms and costs may apply.

And what of those defamation law reforms we were promised? You know, the ones meant to curb this exact sort of nonsense? About as effective as Peter Dutton at a servo. The much-touted ‘public interest defence’¹¹ has now been used three times in politician-led cases — including Pesutto’s — and has failed… Every. Single. Time.¹² If it can’t protect public discourse about politicians, what is it good for? Wrapping fish and chips, perhaps.

What’s truly rich is watching these same politicians wrap themselves in the Australian flag and espouse the merits of free speech¹³ — until someone says something mean. Then it’s straight on the line to Sue Chrysanthou, demanding satisfaction like some 19th-century aristocrat.

This isn’t just an inconvenience for journalists or political commentators. It’s a full-scale mugging of free speech. Defamation law in Australia hasn’t just chilled debate — it’s stuck it in a deep freeze, locked the door, and thrown away the key.

So, oddly enough, I want to thank John Pesutto. Not for losing a defamation case or racking up a legal bill that could fund a small infrastructure project (that his party would no doubt oppose) — but for unintentionally shining a light on just how dysfunctional our defamation laws have become. In trying to defend your party’s values and explain a controversial decision, you’ve ended up a political cautionary tale. It’s unfair, it’s absurd, and it’s exactly the kind of outcome that should make us all stop and ask: is this really how we want political debate to end — not with a vote, but with a bankruptcy notice?

And yes, before you ask: I’m fully aware that writing a critical piece about politicians who treat litigation as a hobby is not the safest career move. But someone has to say it. Defamation law in Australia has become a kind of velvet guillotine — soft to the touch, polite in tone, and absolutely lethal to public debate. And if we don’t do something soon, that velvet guillotine won’t just silence critics — it’ll lop off what’s left of our right to call someone a greasy bushranger.

If this ends with me getting sued, well at least they’ll be proving my point.

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[9] Richard Willingham, ‘Former Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto ordered to pay $2.3m in costs from Moira Deeming defamation battle’, ABC News (online, 16 May 2025) <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-16/john-pesutto-victorian-liberals-moira-deeming-defamation/105300370&gt;.

[10] Constitution Act 1975 (Vic) s 44(2)(c).

[11] Defamation Act 2005 (Vic) s 29A.

[12] Pesutto (n 5); Barilaro (n 2); Greenwich v Latham [2024] FCA 1050.

[13] See, eg, the Liberal Party’s website which claims ‘we believe [… in] those most basic freedoms of parliamentary democracy – the freedom of thought, worship, speech and association’: ‘Our Beliefs’, Liberal (Web Page, 2025) <https://www.liberal.org.au/about/our-beliefs&gt;.