British anti-transgender campaigner Kellie Jay Keen, aka Posie Parker, says she is considering launching legal action against Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto.
In an interview with The Australian earlier this week Keen said comments made by the Victorian Liberal leader in the wake of her Melbourne event in March were a “new low”.
“Being lied about in the egregious way Pesutto, and his Liberal Party colleagues, did, was a new very serious low.” Keen told the newspaper.
Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming spoke at Keen’s open-mike event and in the wake of the event Pesutto moved to have her removed from the party room. Keen says the details of a dossier that Pesutto shared with his colleagues was inaccurate in its claims that she had previous associations with far-right groups.
The British provocateur claims that statements made by the Liberal leader put her life in danger.
“He literally put my life at risk. Following his comments, the protests at my Let Women Speak events were far more intimidating and aggressive. In Auckland, I was lucky to get out alive.”
Keen’s seven city tour of Australia drew protesters at its Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide stops ahead of her Melbourne appearance, but it was at her Melbourne event that a neo-Nazi group appeared adjacent to her event creating global headlines.
As her tour moved on to Canberra and Hobart larger groups of vocal protesters drowned out her attempts to stage the event which has been labeled an anti-transgender rally. Keen describes her events as an opportunity for women’s voices to be heard.
The tour was abandoned after she moved on to New Zealand. At her Auckland event Keen was doused in tomato juice and surrounded by protesters, eventually being escorted away by police.
While Pesutto’s first attempt to oust Deeming from the party room resulted in a mine-month suspension, her colleagues kicked her out of the parliamentary Liberal party completely after a second vote held several weeks later.
Deeming has now indicated that she will take legal action against Presutto alleging that his comments defamed her. As for Keen, she says she’s considering whether to sue Pesutto in Australia or other juristictions.
“We’re looking at what the best legal route is, whether to go through the Australian legal system or international. Obviously, he’s defamed me all over the world.” Keen told The Australian.
Since returning to the United Kingdom Keen has announced she plans to launch her own political party focusing on women’s rights. She says her plans are to have the party running in multiple countries.
John Pesutto’s office has declined to comment on the suggestion that Keen may also launch legal action.
OIP Staff
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