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Speaker 1: From the Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Christinamio.

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Speaker 1: It's Friday, December thirteenth. A long awaited interest rate cut

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Speaker 1: could be threatened by bumper new employment data. Unemployment dropped

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Speaker 1: to three point nine percent in November, according to new

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Speaker 1: data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and it's taken

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Speaker 1: economists by surprise. You can read our experts analysis of

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Speaker 1: those new figures right now the Australian dot com dot au.

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Speaker 1: The political future of Victorian Liberal Party leader John Persuto

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Speaker 1: is up in the air after a judge ruled he

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Speaker 1: defamed independent MP MOI Redeeming. Persuto has defied calls by

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Speaker 1: members of his own party to step down.

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Speaker 2: So can he write it out?

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Speaker 1: That's today's story, obviously.

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Speaker 3: I am just so delighted with today's result and I'm

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Speaker 3: very grateful to the court for their prom consideration.

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Speaker 1: This is the ousted Liberal Party MP more Redeeming outside

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Speaker 1: the Federal Court in Melbourne on Thursday.

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Speaker 3: I just want to say thank you to everybody who

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Speaker 3: stood by with me and yeah, we're just going to

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Speaker 3: get out there and continue to get sex based rights

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Speaker 3: for women and child safeguards.

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Speaker 2: For children, Thank you.

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Speaker 1: Deming was in high spirits because she'd just got a

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Speaker 1: big win.

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Speaker 4: Victorian Opposition leader John Persudo's leadership is under immense pressure

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Speaker 4: from his colleagues after he lost a landmark defamation case.

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Speaker 4: There are calls to allow exiled MP More Redeeming back

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Speaker 4: into the party room.

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Speaker 1: My Redeeming suit the Victorian Liberal Party leader for defamation

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Speaker 1: over allegations he falsely portrayed her as a Nazi sympathizer.

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Speaker 5: One Liberal Party MP described today as a very ugly

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Speaker 5: day for John Persudo, and I think that's an understatement.

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Speaker 1: Johnston is The Australian's Victorian editor, and.

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Speaker 5: It's an understatement because the defamation ruling from Judge David o'

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Speaker 5: callahan of the Federal Court was quite devastating.

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Speaker 2: For John Persuto.

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Speaker 5: It's not so much the money, although it's a lot

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Speaker 5: of money three hundred thousand dollars plus potentially a seven

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Speaker 5: figure legal bill that he will now have to cough up,

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Speaker 5: but it's what it does to his reputation and even

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Speaker 5: more importantly, not so much with the public, but with

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Speaker 5: his Liberal Party colleagues.

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Speaker 1: This legal saga started in early twenty twenty three. My Redeeming,

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Speaker 1: who was then a member of the Victorian Liberal Party,

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Speaker 1: helped organize a rally with women's rights activist Kelly J.

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Speaker 1: Keen Minchell, who also goes by the name Posey Parker.

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Speaker 1: The British activist believes the push for trans rights is

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Speaker 1: eroding womanhood, a position that aligns closely with Deming's own concerns.

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Speaker 2: We don't need to be on the far side of anything,

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Speaker 2: but we will not lie and we will not let

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Speaker 2: you lie about children.

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Speaker 1: The rally was crashed by members of a neo Nazi

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Speaker 1: group who performed a salute and waived a banner declaring

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Speaker 1: destroy pedo Freaks. Deeming tweeted at the time that she

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Speaker 1: was terrified by the experience and expressed her disappointment at

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Speaker 1: the inability of police to get the situation under control.

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Speaker 1: Within a day, her Liberal Party boss, John Pizzuto issued

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Speaker 1: a press release signaling his intention to boot Deeming from

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Speaker 1: the party over the incident. Then he doubled down in

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Speaker 1: interviews with Melbourne's three AW radio station and the ABC,

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Speaker 1: saying Moira Deeming's alleged Nazi associations made her unfit to

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Speaker 1: be a member of the parliamentary Liberal party, Deeming was

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Speaker 1: suspended and then expelled, rebranding herself as an India Pendent

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Speaker 1: Liberal in the fallout, an all.

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Speaker 5: Too familiar walk to the party room for Liberal MPs

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Speaker 5: many tight lip as they shuffled in for More Deemings

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Speaker 5: political execution.

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Speaker 2: It'll get sorted out today and we can all move forward.

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Speaker 3: Forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward.

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Speaker 1: For fast forward to this year, when More Redeeming sued

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Speaker 1: John Pezuto for defamation on five grounds. She claimed suggestions

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Speaker 1: by the Victorian Liberal leader that she associates with neo

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Speaker 1: Nazis and known white supremacists caused her serious harm, and

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Speaker 1: on Monday, Federal Court Judge David O'Callahan agreed, finding John

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Speaker 1: Pezuto defamed More Redeeming in various communications and appearances in

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Speaker 1: the days and weeks following the Let Women Speak rally.

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Speaker 1: It took the judge just a few minutes to deliver

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Speaker 1: his verdict. These are his actual words from court.

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Speaker 6: This is Deeming pleaded numerous diffameatory imputations in respect of

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Speaker 6: each of those five impugned publication. I have found that

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Speaker 6: the following defamatory imputations were conveyed.

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Speaker 1: O'Callahan also rejected the defense mounted by John Pezuto in court,

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Speaker 1: saying the Liberal Party leader demonstrated an inability or refusal

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Speaker 1: to give a simple answer to simple enough questions when

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Speaker 1: giving evidence, But the judge didn't say Perzuto had been dishonest.

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Speaker 1: The barrister representing Pezuto in the proceedings, Matthew Collins Casey, argued,

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Speaker 1: MOI redeeming breached her obligation to demonstrate to victorians that

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Speaker 1: the Liberal Party was united, inclusive and deserving of being

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Speaker 1: elected to government, and he said she should have known

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Speaker 1: what she was getting into a voice actor is reading

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Speaker 1: the words spoken by Matthew Collins in court.

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Speaker 7: A member of a mainstream political party which aspires to government,

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Speaker 7: a member of that party has no business in organizing

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Speaker 7: rallies to the extent that Missus Deeming did without having

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Speaker 7: done basic research which would have uncovered just how toxic

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Speaker 7: these associations would prove to be.

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Speaker 1: Judge David O'Callahan awarded more redeeming three hundred thousand dollars

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Speaker 1: for non economic loss, but declined to award aggravated damages.

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Speaker 1: A hearing for final orders, including the calculation of legal costs,

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Speaker 1: is likely to happen in the next few days.

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Speaker 2: Coming up?

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Speaker 8: What now for the Victorian Liberal Party?

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Speaker 1: On Thursday afternoon, Victorian Liberal Party leader John Pezuto made

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Speaker 1: it clear he's not going anywhere.

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Speaker 9: I do wish to emphasize, though, for all Victorians, that

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Speaker 9: I've always been a fighter, and I've always been a

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Speaker 9: fighter for the right reasons and for the right people,

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Speaker 9: the Victorian people, and that's why i will continue in

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Speaker 9: this role.

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Speaker 1: Pazuto faces calls from members of the Victorian Parliament and

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Speaker 1: from within his own party to step down after that

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Speaker 1: damaging defeat in the Federal Court.

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Speaker 9: I've always approached the leadership of my party and of

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Speaker 9: the coalition on the basis that I have to fight

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Speaker 9: every day to prove I'm worthy of this role. It's

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Speaker 9: an enormous responsibility and there's a lot at stake. I

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Speaker 9: have to bring my a game every day.

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Speaker 2: To my job.

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Speaker 9: That's what makes this role challenging, exciting, rewarding, but tough.

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Speaker 1: Damon Victorians will head to the polls in a state

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Speaker 1: election in twenty twenty six. What do you make of

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Speaker 1: John Pisuto's decision to stay on in light of Thursday's

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Speaker 1: Federal Court decision, and do you think he's the right person.

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Speaker 2: To lead the Victorian Liberals to that next election.

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Speaker 5: The Liberal Party polling has been going quite well over

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Speaker 5: the last six months, putting them in a potential election

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Speaker 5: winning position. Now John Persudo is banking on that continuing

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Speaker 5: into the new year. He's going to try to ride

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Speaker 5: this out. He is banking on the fact that Victorians

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Speaker 5: are more concerned about the cost of living, the state debt, schools, hospitals, potholes,

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Speaker 5: rather than an internal dispute between two Liberal MPs. And

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Speaker 5: on one level, it's a bold strategy and time will

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Speaker 5: tell if it's correct, But it also I think underplays

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Speaker 5: the level of angst within the Victorian Parliamentary Party about

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Speaker 5: how it's found itself in this position and what.

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Speaker 1: Does this all mean for unity and for harmony within

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Speaker 1: the party.

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Speaker 5: Well, unity and harmony are not two words that are

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Speaker 5: normally used in the same sentence as the Victorian Liberal Party. Remember,

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Speaker 5: since nineteen ninety nine, the Liberal Party have only been

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Speaker 5: in office for four years, and I think since nineteen

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Speaker 5: eighty three it's only eleven years. So the Liberal Party

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Speaker 5: once considered Victoria as its crown jewel. The reality is

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Speaker 5: the Liberal Party has been in aberration at a state

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Speaker 5: level in Victoria since the early eighties. Now can they

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Speaker 5: win the twenty twenty sixth state election, and can they

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Speaker 5: win under John Pisuto.

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Speaker 2: The polling suggests they can.

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Speaker 5: However, there's a lot of concern about Pursuto's judgment, how

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Speaker 5: he allowed this degenerate to where it got to today.

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Speaker 2: And in fact it's the own goal.

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Speaker 5: He overreached, went too hard and too far with More

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Speaker 5: Redeeming too soon. Perhaps a more experienced, well considered politician

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Speaker 5: would have just allowed this to play out a little longer,

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Speaker 5: but he went hard, he went fast, and.

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Speaker 2: Ultimately the court found he went too far.

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Speaker 1: For her part, More Redeeming has expressed her desire to

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Speaker 1: get back to work. She says she's open to re

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Speaker 1: admission to the party room, and she says she believes

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Speaker 1: she can work with John Pisuto in the future. But

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Speaker 1: More Redeeming said on Thursday, she's not holding her breath

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Speaker 1: for an apology.

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Speaker 3: The time for asking and demanding things from that man

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Speaker 3: block that ship sailed ages ago. The judge has given

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Speaker 3: me something even better. So I actually genuinely am looking

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Speaker 3: forward to this part being over and just focusing on that.

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Speaker 2: So thank you.

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Speaker 1: John Bozuitto declined to say on Thursday if More Redeeming

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Speaker 1: would be invited back to the party room.

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Speaker 9: I've always maintained that questions of readmission or expulsion from

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Speaker 9: any party room are matters for the members of that

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Speaker 9: party room. So I never wished to speak on behalf

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Speaker 9: of the room on those matters. Their matters for internal

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Speaker 9: debate in this room.

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Speaker 1: Is that likely to happen?

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Speaker 2: Do you think?

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Speaker 5: The reality is he is the leader, so it is

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Speaker 5: a matter for him. And I thought that was a

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Speaker 5: really sign of weakness, uncertainty and cowardice even that he

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Speaker 5: wouldn't actually explain why he didn't want her back in

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Speaker 5: the party room.

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Speaker 2: Look, the reality is that More Redeeming does not have

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Speaker 2: a lot of support. In the past, she could probably.

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Speaker 5: Count five, maybe six votes. However, if a leadership rival

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Speaker 5: thinks that by bringing the fight on, by getting a vote,

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Speaker 5: going to try and get her back into the party room,

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Speaker 5: it may engineer a spill on Persuto's leadership, then.

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Speaker 2: That's how it may happen next year.

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Speaker 5: More redeemings re entry to the party room won't be

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Speaker 5: in and of itself. It has to come as part

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Speaker 5: of a broader play to destroy Persuto's leadership.

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Speaker 2: That's the only way it will happen in my view.

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Speaker 1: Just lastly, Damon, does the situation in Victoria present any

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Speaker 1: problems for the party at a federal level, especially in

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Speaker 1: the lead up to next year's election.

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Speaker 2: I think it does.

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Speaker 5: And federal Liberal MPs have been exercised about this defamation

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Speaker 5: case and they've been exercised about it because they're concerned.

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Speaker 5: They're concerned that the Liberal brand in Victoria is still

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Speaker 5: not strong, that the party is not unified. However, countering

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Speaker 5: that are the polls. Now it's not just one poll,

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Speaker 5: across a range of different opinion polls by different media

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Speaker 5: organizations and polling firms.

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Speaker 2: The Liberals are showing themselves to.

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Speaker 5: Be getting into a winning position, which is exactly where

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Speaker 5: an opposition wants to be at the halfway mark of

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Speaker 5: a term. But look, if this blows up again in

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Speaker 5: late January or February, it may be on the eve

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Speaker 5: of a federal election and that can't be of assistance

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Speaker 5: because I think that will be a massive distraction.

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Speaker 1: Damon Johnston is The Australian's Victorian editor. Before you go,

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Speaker 1: I wanted to let you know the Australians Annual CEO

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Speaker 1: survey is out today. Our team spoke to more than

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Speaker 1: seventy of the nation's business leaders, from mining and energy

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Speaker 1: to banking, manufacturing and retail about how they really feel

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Speaker 1: about the economy, reforms and the rise of Donald Trump.

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Speaker 1: Check it out at the Australian dot com dot au.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for joining us on the front this week.

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Speaker 1: Our team is Claire Harvey, Jasper Leik, Leot Zammaglu, Josh Burton,

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Speaker 1: Tiffany Dimmac, Stephanie Coombs and Meek Kristen Amiot.