The independent MP Alex Greenwich has suffered panic attacks and contemplated leaving public life in the wake of homophobic comments made on social media and published in the news by the former New South Wales One Nation leader Mark Latham.
On the first day of defamation proceedings, the Sydney MP’s barrister, Matthew Collins KC, told the court Greenwich’s office staff had also been taught by police how to handle suspicious mail amid a “torrent of hate” from members of the public.
Greenwich launched the defamation action against Latham after the former federal Labor leader posted an offensive tweet on 30 March 2023 before giving several interviews repeating the comments and making claims about his parliamentary colleague.
Latham deleted the initial tweet, which was made in response to an article in which Greenwich called him a “disgusting human being”. The article was about LGBTQ+ protesters outside an event Latham was speaking at shortly before the NSW election.
In response, Latham said “disgusting?”, and made gratuitous comments about a sexual act that Guardian Australia has chosen not to publish in full.
Collins told the court that despite the tweet being deleted by Latham after two hours and 20 minutes, “the course of Mr Greenwich’s life changed”. He said the tweet had incited others to leave comments and contact the member’s office.
“See the demons that Mr Latham had unleashed,” he told the court, after showing examples of offensive and homophobic comments made by members of the public online following 30 March.
“The tweet very quickly spilled over and developed a life of its own.”
Collins said Greenwich’s office was closed for a week after the tweet and police had then come to train the staff on how to handle suspicious mail in subsequent weeks.
Giving evidence in Sydney, Greenwich said he had “wanted it to go away” since the first tweet was posted.
“I’ve been in public life for a long time. I have during that time tried to just make the point that gay people are normal,” he said. “We’re just like everybody else.”
He said he had been “saddened” and “angered” by Latham’s defence of the comments filed in court.
Collins told the court Greenwich’s husband, Victor Hoeld, had never seen his husband so upset and that Greenwich had been struggling with anxiety about going to public events for fear of his safety and having to talk to people about the comments, as well as questioning his position as a politician.
“The impact has been so severe that he’s found himself questioning whether he can keep serving the people of NSW,” he said.
Collins opened the case by setting the scene in which the comments were made, noting the two politicians “sit on different points on the political spectrum” and had “sparred pretty regularly in public debate” until the last election.
He showed the court a number of tweets posted by Latham in the months leading up to the tweet and interviews in question, including one in which the upper house MP claimed that “alphabet” tourists had not come to World Pride events because “monkeypox has kept them away”.
Collins told the court that “alphabet” was a derogatory term Latham used to describe the LGBTQ+ community.
He then explained the situation had escalated in the wake of an event on 21 March last year – just days before voters headed to the polls – during which Latham spoke at a church in Belfield about “religious freedom, parental rights” and protecting schools from “alphabet activism”.
The event was picketed by LGBTQ+ protesters who were then confronted by counter-protesters. Collins told the court Latham had then referred to Greenwich several times in a subsequent interview.
After being contacted by a reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald, Greenwich gave a quote describing Latham as a “disgusting human being”.
Asked under cross-examination by Latham’s barrister, Kieran Smark SC, if he had in those comments been blaming Latham for the violence, Greenwich said he was “attributing some of what had occurred there” to Latham.
Smark also questioned Greenwich over his claims that he had been left anxious and not wanting to attend social events, suggesting his calendar over the past year had shown otherwise.
Greenwich hit back, describing the time as a “blur and a year like I have never had before”.
He said that while he had attended many events as part of his role as an MP, he had also “become a bit of an expert at the French exit”, referring to the practice of quietly leaving events quickly and without saying goodbye.
He also said he felt the need to step up after the deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies shortly before Mardi Gras this year, despite finding it personally challenging.
The case continues.
• In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org
