The chief executive officer of the Central Land Council has launched a federal case against Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price over allegations she defamed him in a media release in July.
The CEO, Lesley Turner, said the release, which has now been taken offline but was mentioned in two NT News articles, incorrectly reported that a no-confidence motion had been moved by members of the council against him.
The NT News later retracted the articles, publishing an apology that said: “The NT News apologises to Mr Turner for any hurt or embarrassment caused by the publication of the articles.”
In the apology, the NT News said the land council chairman, Matt Palmer, had put out a media release saying members at a full council meeting had moved to cut out Turner. Price’s release quoted Palmer claiming there was “majority support for change of direction and leadership” in the CLC.
In her media release, Price, the shadow minister for Indigenous Australians and a senator for the Northern Territory, argued the no-confidence motion demonstrated the “needs and concerns of Indigenous Australians are not a priority for the Albanese government”.
She also called for a review into the Land Rights Act, to ensure greater “transparency and accountability”.
According to the claim filed in federal court, Turner alleged Price’s media release was defamatory as it implied the CEO had “behaved so unprofessionally that it warranted his dismissal”, “no longer had the support of the majority of the council” and was “unfit to continue to occupy the role of CEO”.
“By reason of the publication of the First Media Release, the application has been seriously injured in his character and in his personal and professional reputation and has suffered and will continue to suffer hurt and embarrassment and loss and damage,” the claim said.
This hurt was aggravated by Price, the claim continued, as she allegedly did not attempt to check if the allegations were correct, intended the release to be published in the mass media, ignored contact from Turner asking for it to be retracted, and did not apologise, even after the NT News took their articles offline. As of early September, according to the claim, Price had “still failed to retract her allegations” about Turner.
Both Turner and Price were contacted for comment. A spokesperson for Price said the senator would not be providing comment while legal proceedings were ongoing.
• This article was amended on 7 September 2024 to correct the name of the land council staff member quoted by Jacinta Nampijinpa Price in her press release.
