COUNCILLOR’S LEGAL DEFENCE AGAINST MAYOR: I SPOKE TO THE TRUTH
GOLD Coast City councillor Peter Young claims he spoke to the truth and gave “honest opinion” when he said Mayor Tom Tate was a “thin-skinned autocrat” during an interview on the ABC, according to court documents.
Cr Tate has brought defamation action against Cr Young and the ABC in relation to statements made by Cr Young on a Four Corners episode in September last year.
In court documents filed this week, Cr Young outlines he will be using truth, public interest and honest opinion to defend the allegations.
The matter is progressing through the Federal Court in Brisbane and a case management hearing is expected to take place in early May.
The Mayor claims Cr Young wrongly implied he was a “thin-skinned autocrat”.
Cr Tate alleged in his statement of claim that 10 different defamatory imputations were conveyed by the program, including that the ABC and Cr Young implied Cr Tate was “corrupt” in relation to political donations and developers and had “swindled the members of the Surfers Paradise Bowls Club out of their clubhouse and bowling greens to profit from a $300 million development deal”.
Cr Young claims in his documents he believed the information he gave the ABC during his interview was true.
“The matters said by (Cr Young) during the interview were reasonable because they were substantially true and it was in the public interest that they be published,” Cr Young’s documents said.
Cr Young denies being defamatory and states he will be relying on the context of his full interview to fight the allegations.
“It was an expression of (Cr Young’s) opinion rather than a statement of fact and the opinion was honestly held,” the documents said.
Cr Young’s rebuttal of the defamation claims made by the Mayor also point out they were made to the public on governmental matters.
“... the things said by (Cr Young) during the interview were part of a fair report of proceedings of public concern, being a proceeding in public of a local government body,” the documents said.
The amount Cr Tate is seeking from the ABC and Cr Young is yet to be specified. The ABC is yet to file its defence but has previously indicated it will be fighting the matter.
Cr Tate declined to comment, saying: “The matter is before the courts so it is entirely inappropriate to comment.”
Cr Young also declined to comment.
IT WAS AN EXPRESSION OF (CR YOUNG’S) OPINION RATHER THAN A STATEMENT OF FACT AND THE OPINION WAS HONESTLY HELD CR PETER YOUNG COURT FILES