WEBVTT - ‘Trans rights’ defamation battle hots up

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<v Speaker 1>You can listen to the Front on your smart speaker

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<v Speaker 1>every morning to hear the latest episode. Just say play

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<v Speaker 1>the news from the Australian. From the Australian, here's what's

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<v Speaker 1>on the Front. I'm Claire Harvey. It's Wednesday, September twenty five.

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<v Speaker 1>More pain for mortgage holders after the Reserve Bank held

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<v Speaker 1>interest rates at four point three five percent on Tuesday.

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<v Speaker 1>It's the seventh straight RBA meeting where the cash rate

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<v Speaker 1>has remained unchanged.

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<v Speaker 2>The board needs to be consonant that inflation is moving

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<v Speaker 2>sustainably towards the target for any decisions are made about

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<v Speaker 2>a reduction and interest rate.

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<v Speaker 1>Do women's rights activists belong in the Liberal Party? That's

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<v Speaker 1>one of the issues being thrashed out in the Federal

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<v Speaker 1>Court in a big defamation battle between the Victorian Opposition

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<v Speaker 1>leader and an MP kicked out of the party today.

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<v Speaker 1>Superstar barristers Sue Chrisanthu and Matt Collins lock Hoorn's.

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<v Speaker 2>Your values do not dictate the beliefs and tenets of

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<v Speaker 2>the Liberal Party merely because you are a current leader.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a voice actor reading the words spoken in court

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<v Speaker 1>by defamation lawyer Sue Chrisanthu sc on Tuesday, Chrisanthu was

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<v Speaker 1>grilling victorious opposition leader John Pizuto.

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<v Speaker 2>And frankly, your personal values as leader are irrelevant to

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<v Speaker 2>the underlying beliefs and values of the Liberal Party. It's

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<v Speaker 2>not your party merely because as at March twenty twenty three,

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<v Speaker 2>you'd been a leader for a few months.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you agree or disagree?

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<v Speaker 3>I agree, it's not my party.

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<v Speaker 1>Fizudo is being sued for defamation by ousted Victorian MP

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<v Speaker 1>Moira Deeming. She was booted from the party after organizing

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<v Speaker 1>and speaking at a wild March twenty twenty three rally

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<v Speaker 1>by self styled women's rights activists. The rally drew crowds

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<v Speaker 1>of pro trans protesters and a group of men in

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<v Speaker 1>black making Nazi salutes.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you to each and every one of you that

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<v Speaker 2>cal crave enough to come here. And it's not your values,

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<v Speaker 2>particularly as you'd only been leader for a few months

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<v Speaker 2>as at March twenty twenty three, that were relevant and

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<v Speaker 2>making decisions in the party room.

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<v Speaker 3>Of course they were. Let's be realistic here, your honor.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm the leader. I was elected because of what I

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<v Speaker 3>stand for, and I was elected because of what I

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<v Speaker 3>can bring to the role.

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<v Speaker 2>You were elected by one vote, so.

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<v Speaker 3>What I'm the elected leader, your honor?

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<v Speaker 2>Would you like to answer my question?

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<v Speaker 1>Rather than give speeches?

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<v Speaker 4>Missus Deming could and should have worked out that she

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<v Speaker 4>was walking into a disaster.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a voice actor reading the words of Colin's CAC

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<v Speaker 1>Council for John Persuto and those angry men were the

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<v Speaker 1>neo Nazis who showed up at the rally. Deeming organized

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<v Speaker 1>and performed Adolf Hitler's one armed salute in his opening

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<v Speaker 1>address delivered on Tuesday. Just before John Persuto entered the

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<v Speaker 1>witness box, Colin said Moira Deeming had breached her obligation

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<v Speaker 1>to demonstrate to victorians that the Liberal Party was united,

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<v Speaker 1>inclusive and deserving of being elected. Colin said when Deeming

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<v Speaker 1>her that British activist Kelly J. Keene Minshol, also known

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<v Speaker 1>as Posey Parker, was coming to Australia on a speaking tour,

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<v Speaker 1>she contacted her asking how she could help.

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<v Speaker 4>She paid for security guards for the rally, organized and

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<v Speaker 4>paid for the sound equipment. She fundraised for the rally,

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<v Speaker 4>She promoted the rally, She booked the steps of Parliament

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<v Speaker 4>House for the rally, and she arranged to escort miss

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<v Speaker 4>Keene to the steps.

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<v Speaker 1>The issue Colin said was that Kelly J. Keen Minshol

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<v Speaker 1>had made it clear in the weeks before this rally

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<v Speaker 1>that she believed trans people were associated with pedophiles. Collins

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<v Speaker 1>cited an article in the Courier Mail quoting Keen at

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<v Speaker 1>a Brisbane rally five days before the Melbourne rally. Here's

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<v Speaker 1>what that article said. Miss Kean told the crowd that

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<v Speaker 1>she doesn't think trans is a thing and described it

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<v Speaker 1>as a dirty fetish and cult. The article went on

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<v Speaker 1>to quote a local LGBTI organization claiming Keen was linked

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<v Speaker 1>to the Proud Boys, a far right American movement, Holocaust deniers,

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<v Speaker 1>and white supremacists.

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<v Speaker 4>A member of a mainstream political party which aspires to government,

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<v Speaker 4>a member of that party has no business in organizing

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<v Speaker 4>rallies to the extent that Missus Deeming did without having

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<v Speaker 4>done basic research which would have uncovered just how top

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<v Speaker 4>these associations would prove to be. Mister Pursuito wants to

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<v Speaker 4>be elected to government. Anyone who had conducted a Google

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<v Speaker 4>search on missus Keane's name would have found precisely this

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<v Speaker 4>sort of information about her, and that was inimical to

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<v Speaker 4>mister Pursuito's project, the Parliamentary Liberal Parties project of forming

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<v Speaker 4>the next government of our state.

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<v Speaker 1>An agenda and to destroy the new Clair family, to

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<v Speaker 1>destroy particularly women. This is Kelly J. Keen min'shole, also

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<v Speaker 1>known as Posey Parker, in an interview published on YouTube

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<v Speaker 1>shortly before her Melbourne rally. Paraphilias like transsectionism transgenderism, they're

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<v Speaker 1>often accompanied by another parathions.

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<v Speaker 2>It's very uncommon for a that for a man to

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<v Speaker 2>have one.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's another league and the.

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<v Speaker 2>Most commons to children because of the transagender.

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<v Speaker 4>The Macquarie Dictionary definition of paraphilia is a preference for

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<v Speaker 4>or addiction to an unusual sexual practice. Transsexualism and transgenderism

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<v Speaker 4>are not unusual sexual practices. They're a form of gender identity.

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<v Speaker 1>Deeming earlier told Colins in the witness Box she'd never

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<v Speaker 1>heard Keen say those things. Deeming said she hadn't heard

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<v Speaker 1>Keen say that pedophiles would get easier access to children

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<v Speaker 1>because of the transagenda.

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<v Speaker 4>What one has in the public statements by missus Keen

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<v Speaker 4>is an easy illusion between trans people and pedophilia.

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<v Speaker 1>Colin said, Kelly J. Keen Minshol's online presence was also

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<v Speaker 1>full of invocations of the Nazis.

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<v Speaker 4>She would have found photos of missus Keane smiling with

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<v Speaker 4>an alleged Holocaust denier. She would have found a profile

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<v Speaker 4>picture used by missus Keane of a Barbie doll in

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<v Speaker 4>a Nazi uniform, and she would have seen a tweet

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<v Speaker 4>from missus Kean equating the tactics of those who argue

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<v Speaker 4>LGBTI rights, that is, the Pride Movement, with the tactics

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<v Speaker 4>of the Gestapo during World War II. I will seek

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<v Speaker 4>to persuade your honor that missus Kean is plainly anti trans.

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<v Speaker 4>Anyone who says that transsexualism or transgenderism is connected to

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<v Speaker 4>pedophilia is spouting hateful, hateful speech, and there are many

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<v Speaker 4>statements of that kind by her. When someone describes trans

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<v Speaker 4>as a dirty fetish and a cult, that's hateful.

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<v Speaker 1>Coming up the Nazis in tight little shorts. At the Australian,

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<v Speaker 1>we've got live coverage of all the big court cases

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<v Speaker 1>and our subscribers will be the first to know who

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<v Speaker 1>wins this battle for the soul of Victoria's Liberal Party.

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<v Speaker 1>Join us at the Australian dot Com dot a you

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<v Speaker 1>this idea that people who advocate for the rights of

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<v Speaker 1>trans people are advocating for pedophilia. That's what self styled

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<v Speaker 1>Nazi Thomas Sewele declared on the steps of Parliament to.

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<v Speaker 2>Every cigarette, not just sting for your They're going for everyone.

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<v Speaker 1>If you didn't catch that Sewell, who's wearing a tight

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<v Speaker 1>black T shirt and tiny little black shorts, says, these communists,

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<v Speaker 1>pedophiles and trainees have infiltrated every single institution. They're going

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<v Speaker 1>for everyone's children.

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<v Speaker 4>Mister Sewell. The neo Nazis were claiming that the reason

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<v Speaker 4>they had gone to Parliament House was to protect Missus

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<v Speaker 4>Keane's protest. They were there as a vanguard for that protest.

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<v Speaker 1>At the rally, pro transactivists being held across the street

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<v Speaker 1>by police on horseback, were linking the Nazis with Kelly

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<v Speaker 1>j Keen Minshol.

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<v Speaker 4>Missus Deeming knew that the Melbourne rally had the potential

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<v Speaker 4>to become violent. She was aware of personal and group

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<v Speaker 4>threats being made, and she took steps to arrange extra

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<v Speaker 4>security on behalf of Let Women Speak. She said that

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<v Speaker 4>the fact that there were threats made her quote more

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<v Speaker 4>determined to be brave and go. She said that she

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<v Speaker 4>did not tell mister Persuto or anyone else in the

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<v Speaker 4>leadership team of the threats that have been received and

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<v Speaker 4>of which she was aware.

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<v Speaker 1>This is not a case about whether the Liberals were

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<v Speaker 1>right to bounce Deeming. It's a defamation claim brought by

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<v Speaker 1>Deeming against Perzuto. She says he defamed her by falsely

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<v Speaker 1>suggesting she was a Nazi sympathizer. Perzuto is relying on

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<v Speaker 1>defenses of contextual truth and honest opinion about a matter

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<v Speaker 1>of public interest. He says Deeming is not a fit

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<v Speaker 1>and proper person to be in the Liberal Party.

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<v Speaker 4>In mister Persuto's view, she brought the Parliamentary Liberal Party

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<v Speaker 4>into disrepute to such an extent that the leadership team

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<v Speaker 4>thought they were compelled to act against her. Politics is

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<v Speaker 4>a rough game. Politics is a brutal game. This is

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<v Speaker 4>a fight to hold the government of our state. In

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<v Speaker 4>order to hold called the government of our state in

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<v Speaker 4>a system with compulsory voting, one has to attract the mainstream.

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<v Speaker 4>One has to attract a majority of the electors. That

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<v Speaker 4>means associations of this kind are absolutely toxic. They drive

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<v Speaker 4>people from the center a mile away from thinking that

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<v Speaker 4>your party is fit to govern. That's why he acted.

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<v Speaker 1>The trial continues. Follow it live by joining our subscribers

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<v Speaker 1>at the Australian dot com dot au