In a secret recording played during day two of expelled Liberal Moira Deeming's defamation trial against leader John Pesutto, the bullying tactics of the Victorian Liberal leadership team have been revealed.

The 70-minute recording of a meeting held on March 19, 2023 – the day after the Let Women Speak rally for girls and women’s rights - included opposition leader John Pesutto, deputy leader David Southwick, upper house leader Georgie Crozier, and then-deputy leader Matt Bach, all of whom pressured Deeming into resigning from the party.

The recording captures a series of aggressive statements aimed at forcing Deeming to step down, despite the fact she had nothing to do with neo-Nazis who gate-crashed the rally.

Crozier expressed her anger, saying the rally had “derailed” the Liberal Party’s efforts, while Pesutto, referencing the presence of the neo-Nazis, warned that Labor was “gunning” for him.

He even suggested the party would be publicly perceived as condoning Nazism. “Nazism is like the most toxic acid that can run through any political party, and it’s running through us,” Pesutto stated, framing the rally as damaging to the party’s prospects for the 2026 election.

Deeming, however, stood firm, repeatedly clarifying her lack of Nazi ties.

"Very obviously, I’m not a Nazi," she asserted, offering to denounce Nazism and expressing willingness to address concerns.

But the leadership team appeared to have made up their minds, as Bach claimed, "There is no way forward."

The recording, according to Deeming’s barrister Sue Chrysanthou, was a clear example of an ambush.

Deeming was “bullied” and subjected to a “shocking pile-on” despite her attempts to resolve the situation.

Pesutto ultimately gave her the ultimatum: resign or face expulsion.

“I’m very sorry it’s come to this, but I just don’t feel I have a choice,” he told her, demonstrating the party’s disregard for her defence of women’s and girls' sex-based rights.

This secret meeting highlights the Victorian Liberal Party’s hostility towards Moira Deeming’s stance on women’s and girls’ rights, labelling her views “controversial” and incompatible with the party’s brand.

Mainstream Australians would have cheered if Pesutto had backed the women. Instead, he made them the problem on false charges of supporting Nazis.

Family First strongly condemns this treatment of Deeming and stands with her in defence of biological women’s rights, which should not be sacrificed for political expediency.

The trial also highlighted her courageous stance on critical issues, particularly her opposition to the so-called Safe Schools program.

Deeming stood firm under cross-examination, defending her 2016 comments, calling the authors of the Safe Schools program “paedophile apologists.”

When questioned about these remarks, Deeming unflinchingly replied, “Absolutely,” standing by her assessment that the program reduces child safeguarding standards.

Deeming’s concerns about the Safe Schools program stem from its promotion of highly inappropriate sexual content in schools.

She pointed out that the program promotes “high-risk sexual activities,” including anal sex, without properly educating children on the long-term health risks.

“They (children) would have a right to know,” Deeming insisted.

Moreover, she highlighted that the program allows male teachers to supervise female change rooms, a clear breach of fundamental safeguarding practices meant to protect children from potential abuse.

It’s disappointing that the Liberal leader’s legal defence is based on support for the radical sexual indoctrination of children at school instead of backing Deeming’s exposure of the inappropriateness of these types of programs.

Family First supports Deeming’s courageous stand. The Safe Schools program and its antecedents, under the guise of anti-bullying, introduce radical gender theory and highly sexualised content into classrooms, eroding the biological understanding of sex and compromising children’s safety.

By promoting harmful gender ideology, it places vulnerable children at risk and undermines the protections that single-sex spaces are meant to provide.

Deeming’s opposition to this agenda should be praised, not condemned, and her commitment to safeguarding children’s innocence stands in stark contrast to the Liberal Party’s capitulation to gender activists.

In the secret recording, Pesutto and other Liberal leaders expressed their frustration with Deeming’s stance, portraying it as “controversial” and outside the mainstream of the party.

However, her principled stand reflects the concerns of countless parents across Australia who are alarmed at the growing push to indoctrinate children with radical gender ideology.

As Deeming correctly pointed out in the recording, “The laws that erase the biological categories of sex for safeguarding, and single-sex spaces for sports... and things like that,” represent an alarming trend that puts children in harm’s way.

Family First continues to stand with Moira Deeming in defending women’s and girls’ rights, and in pushing back against the dangerous policies promoted by programs like Safe Schools.

Protecting children should be paramount, and those like Deeming, who dare to speak the truth, should not be vilified by their own party.

The trial continues.