We're back for day 2 of Deeming v Pesutto🧵🍿 link to watch below, starts at 10.15am. This morning we're expected to hear some of the secret meeting recording & hear directly from Moira
Recording first up! Honestly excellent audio quality & they have the transcript on the screen too. Very helpful.
Brief moment of initial stress on my part thinking that they were going to play this entire recording for 70 mins, but we're getting snippets & comments from lawyers.
First wtf. Southwick secretly recorded this, obviously had it & apparently put on his own affadavit that Deeming argued in the meeting about whether the MIB were NN (we're shortening today) but she just didn't at the start. If that's not true based on this that's.. insane.
The big day is finally here! The public circus showdown between Deeming and Pesutto kicks off this morning at 10.15am & yes the *entire* thing will be livestreamed throughout. Rolling comments will be added here throughout the day 🧵
Only two comments to start.
One, the minimal initial media coverage on the weekend of private texts & discussions already disclosed between MPs, journos & backers demonstrated that the second hand embarassment feelings from this case are going to be strong 😵💫🥲
They're back 🐦👀 as leaderships are questioned and elections start to heat up, there's plenty of chatter happening from the birdies.
First up, rumours are flying about Nick Reece's "unity ticket" with his deputy not looking very.. unified in public. His deputy choice mentioned only once via statement (to resoundingly bad feedback), Roshena has not been seen or heard publicly linked to Reece since the 'launch'.
Yet birdies say he has been dragging her around town to meetings & events, with Reece happily spruiking their 'unity' - yet she's mysteriously missing from every single photo, policy announcement & media piece. Hm. Even stranger, Roshena has no media presence as deputy, at all.
First up, let's get the birdies out of the way. You have to wonder if there's any truth to rumours Reece struggled to find a deputy at all since so few options were ever whispered about & why there's a rare endorsed Lib ticket that Roshena is obviously nowhere near.
Some say this is a clever 'unity ticket' of left/right but I can't agree. If they were more moderate maybe but they are both active card-carrying members of parties which put them totally opposed on a number of major issues, past & present. How they'll deal with that is a mystery
Well, Reece wasted no time announcing his Lord Mayor run as an 'independent', despite him being a current Labor member. On top of that he's quietly hired Dan Andrews ENTIRE ex-team to run the campaign😂 Reece insists he isn't Capp, but maybe that's because he's trying to be Dan?
The Aus Labor Reddit page certainly claimed victory on behalf of the party as 'Labor takes back the Mayor of Melbourne'. This might be an unofficial Labor page, but hard to ignore that there are probably quite a few in the party who do feel that way. reddit.com/r/LaborPartyof…
What's even more interesting is where the silence on Reece has been. There is not a single mention by the ABC about him taking over from Capp, or him running. Not one mention on any of their platforms. This seems odd for Reece & a bit early in the piece for such issues.
First up is one for the diaries - birdies say the AEC has been busy contacting potential voting booth locations for their availability specifically between Feb and May 2025. Looks like a 2024 federal election is definitely off the table (as predicted by Antony Green, of course).
On the fed election, the 'teals' may not be so distinct next time. Birdies have suggested there's an intentional move by those involved to stop using 'teal' as a label because it makes them sound like a party (true) & the AEC may not appreciate that cute marketing move a 2nd time