Page:Deeming v Pesutto (No 3) (2024, FCA).pdf/51

DS – How do you propose to fix it?

MD You said that I was annoyed sitting here –

JP – It felt like that because you were –

MD No, no, no, no, that's true, but you have, you know, convinced me that that does look way worse than I thought. To be fair I genuinely don't think that, you've made me worry about Kellie-Jay Keen, but I do not think Katherine Deves and I do not think that Ange Jones is actually – I don't really think any of them are –

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MD – I'm not trying to defend it, I'm not trying to argue with you. I was all offended that you could think that I was a Nazi until you made that case.

DS No, we're not –

JP It's never been about accusing you of being a Nazi.

MD No, no, no, but like even that I could be, you know – because, I was saying, "adjacent" of it, what are you talking about. Right, so that's fine. If you want to fix it, I'm open to suggestions, if you want like, you know, whatever you want to do that's fine. I just, I'm not – I don't want to argue as if I'm defending like Nazism. I just, I don't know what to do now.

JP I think, so in the interest of candour, I came into this meeting thinking there were two outcomes, either you resign from the Parliamentary Party or I look at a process under the Parliamentary Party rules. I can't rule those out. I'm thinking, on the basis of our discussion, whether there is a third way which doesn't involve the same kind of outcome as those two options. I don't know that that's possible, to be honest, but in the interest of working through the process fairly I'm prepared to sort of confer with the leadership team, to take on board what you've said, and see if there's a way. But I just don't get the sense you appreciate how toxic this is for us with again, the issues – it is so toxic.

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JP Well, can I say, I'm happy to explore this and no one would want this, not [inaudible] me, but I can't see a statement of any worth unless you disown those people, and I reckon you're probably not going to do that. If you do that would be good, but I don't think you are, because it's the only way that we can cauterize what's coming. What's coming is a series of pieces that links the worst comments and actions of those people, to you, to me, and then it's on. That's the only way –

MD – Can't I just disown anything, any views or that they've said?

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GC [Ms Crozier] But it's association, don't you see the association, you are there on a couch with these people who've got a long history of saying stuff in the public domain, which are pretty bloody offensive. They're pretty full on. And you are now associated with that through your own actions. We can't change any of that, right?

MD Can I just. One – just one point of clarification here. I'm treating the transgender laws as separate to the Nazi thing, right? You may not be able to say. So, the transgender laws thing, you know, I honestly think that we just got so much support, that I have so much support on that. Rightly or wrongly, I'm just saying, that was my view. The Nazi thing, that was from my perspective, believe it or not, just so out of left

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