Revealed: Marathon legal fight between Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and ABC ends

A marathon legal row between Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and the ABC, sparked by the Four Corners program All That Glitters, has ended.

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A MARATHON legal row between Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and the national broadcaster ABC has ended - with the Mayor withdrawing his defamation action.

The Bulletin can reveal Federal Court documents show the defamation action – launched by Councillor Tate in December 2017 after an ABC Four Corners program All That Glitters – has been “resolved/finalised”.

Court records show the parties were involved in mediation in June and the details of the final resolution have not been made public.

A spokesperson for the ABC told the Bulletin: “Following a mediation process the legal action brought by Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate over the ABC’s September 2017 Four Corners program All That Glitters has been discontinued.

“The program remains online with an Editor’s Note added. There has been no apology. No damages have been paid. The ABC has agreed to pay the mediation costs.”

The Editor’s Note on the program says: “In September 2017, the ABC broadcast this 4 Corners report, All that Glitters. Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate commenced defamation proceedings against the ABC in relation to the report. He was concerned that viewers would understand it as accusing him of corruption. Mr Tate strongly denies any corrupt conduct, either on his part or that of the council. The ABC wishes to make clear that the 4 Corners report did not contend that Mr Tate was corrupt or had acted unlawfully.”

Cr Tate told the Bulletin: “I’m pleased with the outcome and won’t be making any further comment.”

In November 2019, Cr Tate dropped a defamation case against fellow councillor Peter Young who was interviewed for the ABC program.

In the court documents initially lodged in December 2017, Cr Tate accused Cr Young and the ABC of wrongly implying he was a “thin-skinned autocrat” during the Four Corners report. The program featured investigative journalist Mark Willacy seeking a one-on-one interview with Cr Tate, fronting the mayor in a car park after a media conference.

Cr Tate and Cr Young agreed to bear their own legal costs after their case ended.

“I recently discovered that ratepayers were funding the defence case for Peter Young as approved by the CEO,” Cr Tate said, after that decision.

“Once I discovered that I decided I didn’t want to burden ratepayers any further and discontinued the proceedings. No apology was asked for, I just did it.”

Cr Young in a response at the time said it was not uncommon for council to pay a councillor’s legal fees.

“My legal fees were met by council’s insurance which is the same case for numerous other councillors accused of wrong doing,” he said.

“As far as I am concerned the matter should never have been commenced.”

Councillor Peter Young at a council meeting. Picture: Jerad Williams

Cr Tate earlier in 2019 was ordered to pay 90 per cent of the ABC’s legal costs for legal argument in preparation for his defamation claim against the national broadcaster.

In his initial statement of claim, Cr Tate said the ABC made 12 imputations which damaged his reputation, including that he was derelict in his duties­ and a “thin-skinned autocrat” who “rides roughshod over council approval processes”.

Cr Tate sought to amend his statement of claim late and was opposed by the ABC, which sought to change its defenc­e. The broadcaster was ultim­ately successful, and Federal­ Court judge Robert Bromwich ruled that Cr Tate would have to pay 90 per cent of the ABC’s legal costs in defending the amendment.

The court file shows that in the lead-up to mediation, during 2019 and 2020, the ABC had actively sent out subpoenas to produce documents which it believed supported its case.

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