Jacinta Nampijinpa Price Defends Claims of Defamation in Court
The Federal Court in Darwin is currently hearing a defamation case involving Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, a Liberal senator from the Northern Territory, and Lesley Turner, the chief executive of the Central Land Council. The case revolves around a media release issued by Price in July 2024 that Turner claims falsely reported a no-confidence motion against him.
During the proceedings, which began on Monday, Turner asserted that the press release implied he had acted unprofessionally and was unfit to continue as CEO. According to Turner’s legal counsel, high-profile defamation lawyer Sue Chrysanthou SC, Price and her team proceeded with the media statement without verifying its accuracy.
The heart of the dispute lies in what transpired at a meeting of land council delegates prior to the release. Chrysanthou described Gavin Morris, a former headmaster at an Aboriginal school in Alice Springs, as a “meddler” who sought to undermine Turner’s position. Morris allegedly assisted in drafting a statement for Matthew Palmer, the chair of the land council, which claimed that delegates had voted in favor of the no-confidence motion.
This statement was subsequently reported by the NT News, which later retracted the article and issued an apology. Chrysanthou argued that Price and her staff did not question discrepancies or seek confirmation from sources before distributing their own release, thus defaming Turner.
She emphasized that when it became clear that no vote of no confidence had occurred, Price refused to acknowledge this publicly, exacerbating Turner’s distress. “To this day, Senator Price has never publicly admitted that what she said was wrong… she has never made an apology for it,” Chrysanthou stated.
Chrysanthou criticized Price’s approach, suggesting that the senator disregarded the truth in favor of pushing the narrative forward. “Instead of checking what happened, she didn’t care what was true,” Chrysanthou claimed.
In March, Price removed a truth defense from the defamation action without issuing an apology. Instead, she is relying on a defense of qualified privilege, asserting that her actions in publishing the media release were reasonable under the circumstances.
The court has scheduled a seven-day hearing for this defamation case, highlighting the significant implications for both Price and Turner. As this legal battle unfolds, the outcome may have lasting effects on the reputations and careers of those involved.
