Controversial Aus MP to defend homosexual vilification case
Former federal Labor leader Mark Latham is due to give evidence at a civil tribunal on Wednesday, a day after NSW independent MP Alex Greenwich accused him of having an "abusive obsession" with him.
The case relates to a sexually explicit tweet the Federal Court has previously ruled as defamatory and subsequent media appearances made by Latham, who sits as an independent in the state parliament.
Greenwich has sued Latham for homosexual vilification and workplace harassment in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The online sparring match between the two politicians followed violent protests outside a church in Sydney's southwest, where Latham was giving a pre-election speech in March 2023.
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About 250 mostly male counter-protesters violently attacked police and 15 LGBTQI protesters.
Independent MP Alex Greenwich (Source: Getty)
Outside the tribunal on Tuesday, Latham accused his rival of lying under oath by suggesting he had ignored police instructions regarding the church incident, leading to an act of political violence.
"He's falsely accused me of a crime, it's a crime in NSW to incite violence," Latham told reporters.
"I got there after the event, I listened to the police request and correctly made a judgement the meeting could proceed, which it did totally peacefully."
Greenwich earlier told the tribunal he believed he was relying on information from NSW Police, provided to him via a journalist.
He also outlined to the tribunal the "hatred and ridicule" the tweet had exposed him to.
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"I have never been so diminished, demeaned, dehumanised by someone ... this was the first time in my political career I'd been so fundamentally attacked for who I am and my sexuality," Greenwich said.
Greenwich, who is a vocal advocate for the LGBTQI community, received AU$140,000 (NZ$153,560) in damages in the Federal Court suit against Mr Latham in 2024.
He had sued the former NSW One Nation leader over the tweet sent days after the state election, describing a sex act in explicit terms.
It came in response to a post quoting Greenwich describing him as a "disgusting human being".
Latham has been embroiled in several recent scandals, including taking photos of women MPs without their knowledge, for which he has already apologised.
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