Latham’s tweet increases to over $600,000 in value
Latham’s tweet about political rival Alex Greenwich, a prominent LGBTQI community advocate, has led to a significant increase in his legal expenses.
The financial repercussions of former Labor leader Mark Latham’s derogatory tweet about a political opponent have more than tripled.
Independent NSW MP Alex Greenwich was granted $140,000 in damages in September following a successful lawsuit against the ex-federal opposition leader.
Latham, now a right-wing independent MP, was found guilty of defaming his left-wing colleague with a tweet that explicitly mentioned a sexual act.
Despite receiving a settlement offer a month after the offensive tweet was shared, Latham declined it, as per information presented in the Federal Court.
The proposal included retracting the comments, offering $20,000 in compensation, and a non-“grovelling or humiliating” apology that did not require an admission of defamation.
Greenwich’s barrister, Matt Collins KC, mentioned that the apology entailed acknowledging that the tweet had caused distress.
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In a subsequent ruling, the court determined that Latham’s homophobic tweet subjected Greenwich, a gay individual and prominent advocate for LGBTQI rights, to a barrage of hateful attacks, including threats on his life.
The offensive message was shared during the 2023 state election in response to a post quoting Greenwich calling Latham a “disgusting human being.”
Latham’s legal representative argued that the former One Nation MP should only bear a fraction of his opponent’s legal fees since it was reasonable for him to decline the settlement offer.
The lawyer highlighted that offering an apology to a political rival could have long-term implications for Latham and emphasized the challenges of complying with the requirement to disable and monitor comments on his apology.
Justice David O’Callaghan agreed with the decision to reject the offer, deeming the conditions demanded as “very broad and unlimited in time.”
However, the judge ordered Latham to cover his rival’s legal costs on a party-party basis, which typically covers approximately 70% of the total fees incurred.
Greenwich’s legal expenses are estimated to exceed $600,000.
Following the tweet, Latham faced political repercussions when the Labor party cited it as a reason for not cooperating with him on legislative matters in the evenly balanced upper house.
His term, which lasts eight years and comes with an annual salary of $172,500, extends until 2031.
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