After Saturday’s walkout, Pesutto urged more than 300 members who stayed inside the conference room that the party had to remain “disciplined and focused”.
“Whatever we might say about the Labor Party, whatever criticisms you might level, they have kept it together in terms of focus and discipline,” he said.
“We can win, people want us running the state, but we have to believe in ourselves.”
Outside the venue, party members who walked out, including Ross Kroger, Noelle Mason and Maria Cagalj, told The Age Pesutto’s actions in supporting the expulsion motion against Deeming were “disgraceful” and “disgusting”, and called for him to be replaced.
“To have her expelled, it’s disgusting,” Mason said.
John Dunn, a Liberal member for 40 years, said he wrote to Pesutto and called on him to apologise.
Opposition Leader John Pesutto arrives at the meeting in Bendigo on Saturday.Credit: Penny Stephens
“I know many Liberals are very upset and my only hope now is that you have not destroyed the Liberal Party,” he wrote in the letter seen by The Age.
Pesutto’s critics also said their anger at him was shared by some federal MPs, and cited Peter Dutton’s threat of a federal takeover.
Senator Sarah Henderson addressed members after Pesutto, and called on the party to “expel” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese from office, which was widely interpreted as a rebuke of state Liberals’ decision to expel Deeming.
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“As a strong and united team which respects our individual freedoms, including the freedom of speech and freedom to be our best selves – our broad church – working together with you, we can do this,” Henderson said.
Pesutto didn’t address the Deeming scandal in his speech, and instead made an early election commitment to hold a comprehensive review of the state’s tax system which would include a review of stamp duty and payroll tax.
He also promised to reinstate a Victorian version of the productivity commission if elected in 2026.
After his speech, Pesutto played down the walkout by more than two dozen members and said he was “moved by the standing ovations” from supporters.
“If there were people that had different views, that’s a matter for them, but what I saw was a strong endorsement to my commitment to reforming the party,” he said. “I was overwhelmed by the strong support in the room.”
Senator Sarah Henderson called on the party to “expel” Anthony Albanese from office in her address.Credit: Penny Stephens
Privately, some of his colleagues fear Deeming’s defamation action will ultimately cost him his job by causing a distraction in the lead-up to the 2026 state election.
One MP said: “Labor will weaponise both the bullying and defamation claims, and he won’t ever be an effective opposition … in the longer term he might have to consider an orderly handover.”
Pesutto greets federal Liberal MP Dan Tehan at the conference.Credit: Penny Stephens
Federal Liberal MPs Dan Tehan, Jane Hume and James Paterson also attended the conference with the majority of state MPs and Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh.
As MPs and grassroots members arrived at the conference, Deeming’s supporters handed out copies of a newspaper article in which the MP declared in an interview she won’t go quietly.
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