Jacinta Price ‘didn’t care’ defamatory press release was wrong, court told

3 hours ago 4

Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was told a defamatory press release about an Indigenous leader was wrong shortly after she issued it but she “just didn’t care”, the Federal Court has heard.

Price is defending a defamation case filed against her by Les Turner, chief executive of the Northern Territory-based Central Land Council, over a press release published in July last year. The seven-day Federal Court trial in Darwin will conclude on Tuesday.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price outside the Federal Court in Darwin last week with her husband Colin Lillie, left.

Sydney barrister Sue Chrysanthou, SC, acting for Turner, said in closing submissions to the court that her client had an “exemplary reputation” before the media release.

Price “was told that her publication was wrong nearly immediately by the Central Land Council... but she just didn’t care”, Chrysanthou said.

She said the senator’s “persistence … didn’t end there” because Price, “somewhat surprisingly”, had insisted during her evidence in court that she had got nothing wrong in the face of documents that suggested otherwise.

Les Turner outside the Federal Court in Darwin on the first day of the defamation trial.

Price said in the media release that a “motion of no confidence” in the chief executive of the Central Land Council had been moved, and a majority of members showed their support via a “vote” for the CEO to be dismissed “due to unprofessional conduct”. Turner was not named, but there is no dispute that it identified him.

The press release, published on July 21 last year and sent to almost 2000 journalists and other media identities, said the motion was “unsuccessful” but that it had been “backed by the Central Land Council chair Matt Palmer”.

Price conceded during her evidence that she now knows that there was no vote.

“She eventually conceded, after insisting she’d got nothing wrong on Friday, that there was no vote at all; that there was no motion moved,” Chrysanthou said. “All of that is relevant to the measure of damages.”

Price dropped her truth and honest opinion defences to the defamation case before the trial.

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 has admitted this claim was conveyed, and is not seeking to prove it was true. Instead, she is seeking to rely on the defence of qualified privilege, which protects some publications of public interest where a publisher acted reasonably. Reasonableness is expected to be the key battleground in the case.

During cross-examination on Monday, Price denied she was part of an attempted “coup” to replace Turner with the then-principal of Alice Springs’ Yipirinya School for Indigenous children, Gavin Morris.

The court has heard that Morris, who has since left the school and was found guilty this month of four counts of aggravated assault against students at the school while he was principal, was “desperate” to leave the school and wanted Turner’s job.

Les Turner outside the Federal Court in Darwin.

Morris provided information to Price about the planned “coup” to oust Turner before she issued her media release, the court has heard.

But Price gave evidence that she was only interested in what the chair of the land council had to say about Turner, and not in Morris’ motives. She did not support Morris as a replacement for Turner, she said in a text message before she issued her media release.

Price’s senior adviser Damian Wilks gave evidence on Tuesday that Morris acted as a “a facilitator and an intermediary” between Palmer and the senator’s office.

The court heard Wilks helped draft a media release issued by Palmer before Price published her own release, and it was Morris who sent him the draft.

Wilks said he was not told Morris wanted to replace Turner as chief executive of the Central Land Council. He said he became aware of the criminal charges against Morris in August 2024, after Price’s office had issued the media release critical of Turner.

The hearing continues.

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