20 hours Ago By Adelaide Lang
The cost of firebrand former Labor leader Mark Latham's homophobic tweet about a political rival has more than tripled. Login or signup to continue reading Independent NSW MP Alex Greenwich was awarded $140,000 in damages in September after he successfully sued the former federal opposition leader. Mr Latham, now a right-wing independent MP, was found to have defamed his left-wing colleague in a tweet that explicitly described a sex act.
Mr Latham rejected a settlement offer a month after the tweet was posted, the Federal Court was told. The offer involved a retraction of the comments, $20,000 in compensation and an apology that Mr Greenwich's barrister said was not "grovelling or humiliating" or requiring an admission the comments were defamatory. Instead, they recognised it caused distress, Matt Collins KC said.
A court later found Mr Latham's homophobic tweet exposed Mr Greenwich, who is gay and a prominent LGBTQI community advocate, to a torrent of hateful abuse including death threats. It was posted at the time of the 2023 state election in response to a post that quoted Mr Greenwich describing Mr Latham as a "disgusting human being". Mr Latham's lawyer argued the former One Nation MP should only have to pay a quarter of his rival's costs because it was not unreasonable for him to refuse the settlement offer.
He noted an apology to a political rival "could be used against" Mr Latham for the rest of his career, and stressed the difficulty of complying with the requirement to disable and monitor commentary on his apology. Justice David O'Callaghan agreed it was not unreasonable for Mr Latham to reject the offer, finding the undertakings sought were "very broad and unlimited in time". But the judge ordered the former Labor leader pay his rival's legal costs on a party-party basis, which normally covers around 70 per cent of the fees incurred.
Mr Greenwich's legal costs have been estimated to exceed $600,000. The tweet also cost Mr Latham politically after the governing Labor party cited it as a reason it would not engage with him on legislation in the evenly balanced upper house. His eight-year term - attracting an annual base salary of $172,500 - runs until 2031.
Lifeline 13 11 14 Fullstop Australia 1800 385 578 Australian Associated Press Daily Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. Weekdays Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation.
Weekdays Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. Weekly Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. Weekly Going out or staying in? Find out what's on.
Weekly Love footy? We've got all the action covered. Weekly The latest news, results & expert analysis. Weekly Follow the Newcastle Knights in the NRL? Don't miss your weekly Knights update.
Weekly Get the latest property and development news here. Weekly Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. Weekdays Sharp.
Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more.
Twice weekly Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. Twice weekly Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. Weekly Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner.
As it happens Be the first to know when news breaks. Daily Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! Daily Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia.
Fresh daily!.
