Senator Jacinta Price denies she was a co-conspirator in scheme to replace CLC chief executive Les Turner
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has denied she was a co-conspirator in a scheme to replace Indigenous land council chief executive Les Turner with a now-disgraced Alice Springs school principal. Read the latest from court.
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has denied she was a co-conspirator in a plot to replace Indigenous land council chief executive Les Turner with a now-disgraced Alice Springs school principal.
On Monday Ms Price confirmed she was aware of a plan by then Central Land Council Chair Matthew Palmer to replace the chief executive Les Turner, amid an internal power struggle in the lead up to the July 2024 full council meeting.
Following the meeting of traditional owners, Ms Price sent a press release to more than 1000 journalists in which she claimed the “majority” of CLC delegates had voted against Mr Turner in a no-confidence motion due to his “unprofessional conduct”.
Mr Turner sued the Senator over this release, with the CLC maintaining there was never a motion to dismiss their chief executive.
The Federal Court defamation hearing was shown texts between the Senator and then-Yipirinya School Principal Gavin Morris, and discussions with her staffers about his ambitions to take over the land council five weeks out from a full council meeting.
Morris texted the Senator on June 7 claiming that there were “some pretty big movements” about to go down in the CLC.
“They are planning a coup and getting rid of the CEO and executive, they have all 90 delegates ready to go,” Morris texted.
Ms Price texted that it was “fantastic”, telling the court she believed this was Aboriginal communities “taking matters into their own hands”.
However the Senator said she had advised the principal not to take on the chief executive role, but was told he was “desperate” to leave Yipirinya School.
Ms Price said she never asked why he was “desperate” to leave the school, but three months later Morris was charged with physically assaulting his students.
Earlier this month Morris was found guilty of assaulting four children at the school in 2023 including choking an eight and 12-year-old, with the Federal Court told he used racist language against some of his victims.
Ms Price maintained at the time she was unaware of rumours circulating Alice Springs about Morris, despite her mother and former CLP NT politician serving as his Vice Principal.
The Senator said she had advocated for additional funding for a boarding school for Yipirinya School, but she was unaware that Morris gave himself an $85,000 pay rise.
Ms Price said Morris was used only as a “conduit” between her and the CLC chair.
Mr Turner’s barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC revealed that Ms Price’s staffer Damian Wilks helped Morris and Mr Palmer draft the then-chair’s email to four journalists which falsely claimed Mr Turner had been dismissed.
Ms Price released her statement the next day, claiming that despite Mr Turner losing the confidence of the “majority” of delegates he remained in his role.
In a recorded call before releasing her statement, Ms Price assured Mr Morris and Mr Palmer that her office would help to ensure the story “doesn’t slip through the cracks”.
“We’ve just got to keep hitting them hard,” Ms Price said.
“Keep it in the media spotlight, that’s how you apply pressure... to let the whole of Australia know” she said.
Ms Price denied she was referring to “hitting” Mr Turner and was just trying to escalate Mr Palmer’s concerns, with her staffers lining up interviews with The Australian and the ABC.
On Monday, she admitted the release defamed Mr Turner and acknowledged there was no vote against the chief executive.
Ms Price maintains a defence of qualified privileged, saying her press release was a matter of public interest.
She has stated she had serious concerns about Mr Turner’s professionalism based on concerns raised by traditional owners, including a false rumour he did not live in Alice Springs.
“If someone told you a lie about my client... you would not take into account their false perception, in forming a view about his professionalism, would you?” Ms Chrysanthou asked.
“It the fact that they even have that perception is the concern,” Ms Price replied.
“At that time I didn’t know if it was true or not.”
On Monday, it was also revealed that Ms Price had previously threatened to sue the CLC following their public stance in favour for the Voice in the height of the Referendum campaign in 2023.
In a letter to the CLC in May 2023, Ms Price’s legal representatives claimed its statement was “dripping with malice” and “highly defamatory”, as it accused of being a “liar”, “fraud”, “hypocrite”, and a “vindictive and spiteful person” who had a “personal vendetta” against the land council.
On Monday Ms Price maintained it was “unreasonable” for a media release to go out without giving her an opportunity to refute the allegations against her — but then rejected that she had done the exact same thing to Mr Turner a year later.
“The difference is, I took my information from the chairman of the entire organisation, who was well within his rights to pursue a media release about his role,” she said.
Ms Price said her office “sought clarification on the allegations”, but only after her July 2024 press release went out.
The CLC did not retract or apologise for its 2023 statement, with Mr Palmer telling Ms Price in a letter he was “saddened and surprised” to receive the defamation threats from a politician who had campaigned on “fight(ing) for your right to speak freely”.
“Ms Price seeks to silence the Central Land Council from responding to her public attack on Aboriginal organisations, which I have no reason to think will stop, and her opposition to the Voice,” Mr Palmer’s letter said. The trial is expected to continue on Tuesday.
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Originally published as Senator Jacinta Price denies she was a co-conspirator in scheme to replace CLC chief executive Les Turner
