Benjamin Barrak, Andrew Wilson: Parramatta councillors case to be decided by jury
A defamation case involving a Parramatta councillor who is suing his fellow representative for banning him from meetings over name-calling allegations will now be decided upon by a jury.
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A long-running defamation case involving Parramatta councillor Benjamin Barrak suing his fellow representative Andrew Wilson for banning him from meetings will now be decided upon by a jury at a civil trial.
Cr Barrak is suing Cr Wilson, the former Parramatta Lord Mayor, over claims of misconduct, the contents of a mayoral minute speech, banning him from some meetings, and removing him from committees for several months last year.
At a Parramatta Council meeting in February last year, Cr Barrak likened Cr Wilson’s threats to ban him as being akin to the Gestapo.
The comments were made after the Liberal councillor called Our Local Community Cr Wilson a clown at a previous meeting that month, when he abruptly left with confidential papers that detailed the sacking of CEO Mark Stapleton.
Cr Barrak was asked to apologise for making insulting comments to Cr Wilson and to hand back the papers but he refused on both counts until a court ordered him to last September.
The Gestapo reference was raised at Sydney District Court on Thursday.
Neither councillor was required to appear but were represented by their lawyers.
Judge Judith Gibson likened Cr Barrak’s remarks to being similar to a defendant offending while on bail.
“Some meetings, he put oil on to the fire by calling (the mayor) the Gestapo,’’ Justice Gibson said.
The legal action is not the first Cr Barrak has initiated since last year.
He first sued the council in April 2019, claiming he was denied justice when he was expelled from the meeting after he had already walked out.
Cr Barrak lost the case in the Land and Environment Court and appealed the decision in the Supreme Court. In September last year, the Court of Appeal found the council was entitled to require Cr Barrack to apologise for calling Cr Wilson a clown, but was wrong in relation to other matters.
Both parties were ordered to pay their own costs of the appeal and the underlying proceedings.
This February, Cr Barrak lodged an application for special leave to appeal with the High Court of Australia despite saying the Court of Appeal decision that found the council were not entitled to evict him on certain occasions was a good result for justice.
But his application was dismissed and the matter did not proceed to a High Court appeal.
The defamation matter before the Sydney District Court will return to court at a date to be determined.