Outspoken Liberal Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is being sued by the head of an Aboriginal land council over a media release he claims defamed him by implying he was unfit for the role.
Justice Michael Wheelahan is set to preside over a significant case in the Federal Court, scheduled for a seven-day hearing beginning Monday in Darwin. This legal proceeding has captured considerable attention due to the high-profile nature of the parties involved.
A statement of claim by Central Land Council chief executive Lesley Turner says a media release from the senator in July 2024 wrongly suggested he no longer had the support of the majority of council members.
It had been falsely reported that a no-confidence motion had been moved against Mr Turner by council members, the claim says.
The senator’s release implied Mr Turner had “behaved so unprofessionally that it warranted his dismissal” and was “unfit to continue to occupy the role of CEO”, according to the claim filed to the court.
The Northern Territory senator’s assertions were published by the NT News in an article titled, “No confidence motion against Lesley Turner defeated”, the claim says.
In a related development, a newspaper issued a public apology to Mr. Turner, retracting an article that had previously cast him in a negative light. This act of retraction and apology underscores the evolving dynamics of the case and the potential impacts on those connected to it.
In October 2024 Justice Wheelahan ordered Senator Price to pay $1500 after her legal team failed to file her defence in time to present at a hearing of the defamation matter.
Senator Price came to prominence in 2023 campaigning against a ‘yes’ vote ahead of the defeated referendum on whether to allow an Indigenous Voice to parliament.
She has long called for an audit of federally funded Indigenous organisations.
in September Senator Price was sacked from her shadow portfolios of defence industry and defence personnel for suggesting the government favoured Indian migrants because they voted Labor.
The situation has also stirred political waters, as Liberal leader Sussan Ley has called for the resignation of an individual tied to these events. Her demand adds a layer of political intrigue, highlighting the broader implications of the case beyond the courtroom.
