Australian MP ordered to pay $100k to rival over homophobic post
Mark Latham (right) and Alex Greenwich (right) (Getty Images | Wikimedia Commons)
Mark Latham, former federal Labor leader and One Nation MP, has been ordered to pay the maximum $100,000 penalty to Sydney MP Alex Greenwich after a NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal found a social media post Latham made amounted to unlawful vilification based on sexuality.
The ruling adds to an earlier Federal Court decision that deemed the same post defamatory, with Latham already ordered to cover Greenwich’s $140,000 legal costs. The tribunal described Latham’s original comment as so extreme that most media outlets refused to repeat it, signalling a clear breach of acceptable public discourse.
The case stems from a heated exchange between the two politicians in 2023, after violent protests outside a church in Sydney where Latham was giving a speech at the time.
After Latham’s offensive post, Greenwich’s office was inundated with abuse, including threats and hate messages. Evidence presented to the tribunal showed the impact was severe, with a psychologist confirming Greenwich met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Mr Latham’s comments sought to reduce my identity to a sex act and then imply I am a danger to children,” Greenwich said as a part of evidence in the tribunal.
“Mr Latham’s comments have impacted my ability to attend large gatherings out of fear that people will ask me questions about Mr Latham or engage in violence against me,” he continued, as per Daily Mail.
The tribunal rejected Latham’s argument that he was not responsible for the backlash, ruling that his comments directly fuelledthe surge in hostility.
Greenwich welcomed the decision as a landmark moment for LGBTQ+ protections, emphasising that public figures cannot use online platforms to spread harmful rhetoric without consequences. Latham, meanwhile, has shown no sign of backing down, criticising the ruling and indicating he plans to appeal.
The tribunal also ordered him to remove any further vilifying content and refrain from making similar statements in the future.
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