Gold Coast May Tom Tate sues the ABC and Peter Young over wrongly implying he was ‘thin-skinned’

MAYOR Tom Tate has lodged his long-promised legal action against the ABC and fellow city councillor Peter Young. It can now be revealed on what grounds the mayor is suing them over following a television report late last year.

MAYOR Tom Tate has accused the ABC and city councillor Peter Young of wrongly implying he was a “thin-skinned autocrat” during a Four Corners report about the Gold Coast broadcast nationally in September last year.

The Gold Coast Bulletin has obtained copies of documents lodged in the Federal Court in Brisbane by Cr Tate, who has accused the ABC and Cr Young of defamation.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has accused the ABC and councillor Peter Young of defaming him. Picture: Jerad Williams .

All of the allegations relate to a Four Corners program that aired on September 18 last year about development on the Gold Coast and Cr Tate’s involvement.

The program followed a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation into the 2016 Gold Coast local government election.

Cr Young gave an extensive interview on the program and is the only individual who has been named in the defamation claim.

Councillor Peter Young in Gold Coast Council chambers. Picture: Richard Gosling

Cr Tate alleges in his statement of claim that 10 different defamatory imputations were conveyed by the program, including that the ABC and Cr Young implied Cr Tate was “corrupt” in relation to political donations and developers, and had “swindled the members of the Surfers Paradise Bowls Club out of their clubhouse and bowling greens to profit from a $300 million development deal”.

Cr Tate also claims in documents filed with the court that the program conveyed an imputation “(Cr Tate) is a thin-skinned autocrat who orchestrated the sacking of a journalist who spoke out against him”.

Another imputation allegedly conveyed by the program was that: “In dereliction of his duties as mayor of the Gold Coast, (Cr Tate) deliberately keeps crucial information concerning construction projects in the Gold Coast secret from other councillors and the local community to avoid public scrutiny”.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate claims the defamatory remarks were made during a report on long-running current affairs program Four Corners.

Other matters detailed in the documents related to the filling of Black Swan Lake, a proposed cruise ship terminal at Phillip Park and a $3 billion resort development by ASF which was scuttled by the State Government last year.

Cr Tate claims the 10 imputations are false and have damaged his reputation.

“(Cr Tate) has been greatly injured in his character, credit and reputation, and has been brought into public hatred, ridicule and contempt, and has suffered and will continue to suffer loss and damage,’’ the documents claim.

The documents do not state the amount Cr Tate is seeking for damages, but does state that “further particulars” will be provided in relation to aggravated damages.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and with his wife Ruth at Burleigh Heads. Picture: Glenn Hampson

“The Respondents, and each of them, published the matters complained of knowing them to be false or with reckless indifference to their truth or falsity, and lacking an honest belief in what they published,” the documents read.

Cr Tate also accused the ABC and Cr Young of not giving him opportunity to respond to the allegations.

He also noted they had both refused to apologise.

Cr Tate foreshadowed he would be seeking damages in court since the program first aired in September.

It was not until last month that Cr Tate’s lawyers, Hickey Lawyers, filed the documents.

A spokesman for Cr Tate said the mayor “is making no further public comment on that issue”.

Cr Young, who is on holidays in the UK, referred the Bulletin to a Facebook post made on New Year’s Eve.

“As you may be aware the Mayor is suing me for defamation and this will be especially onerous, but I will endeavour at all times to continue to focus on my work in the public interest,” he said.

The ABC declined to comment.