New South Wales politician Mark Latham has lost his appeal against a Federal Court decision that found he had defamed independent MP Alex Greenwich in a 2023 social media post.
At the time, Latham was the leader of One Nation in New South Wales. He later quit the party following a falling out with party founder Senator Pauline Hanson.
In the original statement of claim, Greenwich said Latham had portrayed him as a “not fit and proper person” by alleging he “engages in disgusting sexual activities”.
Latham’s lawyers argued his tweet, which OUTinPerth has chosen not to republish, was a response to an interview in which Greenwich had referred to him as a “disgusting human being”.
The Federal Court found Latham had defamed Greenwich. On appeal, the court agreed with the original decision, rejecting Latham’s defences of honest opinion and qualified privilege, and finding his comments went beyond political commentary.
While Justice Michael Wheelahan dismissed Latham’s appeal, he also rejected a cross-appeal from Greenwich that sought to establish additional alleged imputations.
The original judgment ordered Latham to pay $140,000 in damages and to meet a substantial portion of Greenwich’s legal costs, which were anticipated to exceed $500,000. The parties are due to return to court on 17 June to address further costs.
Alex Greenwich welcomed the court’s decision.
“Justice is a long game. More than three years ago, Mr Latham defamed me in a sexually aggressive social media post that subjected me to an avalanche of homophobic hate,” Greenwich said.
“He failed to take responsibility for his actions. Today, justice prevailed. His appeal has been dismissed and the judgment in my favour upheld.”
Greenwich said the past few years had been difficult and thanked his husband, family, friends, colleagues, staff and mental health professionals for their support.
“This is an important judgment at a time when politics is too often charged with divisive vitriol. Like the original judgment and the NCAT ruling, it makes clear there is no place in Australian civil discourse for the kind of conduct Mr Latham engaged in,” he said.
Separately, Latham also lost a vilification and sexual harassment complaint arising from the same incident and was ordered to pay $100,000 in damages. That decision is currently under appeal.
OUTinPerth has contacted Mark Latham for comment.
