There was “no explanation as to why it had to go out so urgently on a Sunday night”, Chrysanthou said.
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“She trampled on my client’s reputation … without caring at all whether what was said about him was true or false.”
In documents filed in court, Turner says the media release conveyed a number of false and defamatory claims about him, including that he “no longer had the support of the majority of Central Land Council members because of his unprofessional behaviour in that role”.
Price admits this claim was conveyed, and is not seeking to prove it is true. Instead, she is seeking to rely on the defence of qualified privilege, which protects publications of public interest where a publisher acted reasonably. Reasonableness is expected to be the key battleground in the case.
Price has said the litigation could “cost me my seat in parliament” if she lost and was bankrupted because she was unable to pay damages and legal costs.
Under section 44 of the Australian Constitution, members who are undischarged bankrupts or insolvent are ineligible to sit in parliament.
Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, is among Price’s backers.Credit: AAP
Price started a crowdfunding campaign for her legal bills earlier this year. She disclosed in the parliamentary register of interests in September that Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, had made a contribution to the legal fund via her company Hancock Prospecting.
The total value of all donations has not been revealed but only those above a $300 threshold must be disclosed. In light of that threshold, the donations from more than 700 donors total hundreds of thousands of dollars to date.
Chrysanthou said Price made no attempt to contact the Central Land Council or Turner before issuing the release and had “no excuse” for that failure.
The Country Liberal Party senator had originally sought to rely on a wider range of defences, including truth, but those defences were dropped before the trial.
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