60 Minutes Grantham floods defamation: Wagner brothers win $3.69 million

Queensland’s four Wagner brothers have been awarded almost $4 million following defamatory comments made by Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes program about the Grantham floods.

TOOWOOMBA’s four Wagner brothers have been awarded almost $4 million for being defamed on a Channel Nine 60 Minutes program about the Grantham floods.

Justice Peter Applegarth today ordered five Channel Nine defendants to pay each Wagner brother $600,000 in defamation damages, plus $63,000 in interest.

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Journalist Nick Cater was ordered to pay Denis, John, Neill and Joe Wagner $300,000 damages each, plus $31,500 in interest.

It brings the total payout to $3,694,500 and Justice Applegarth also ordered the defendants to pay the Wagners’ costs.

Neill, John and Denis Wagner. Picture: AAP Image/Glenn Hunt

The damages ordered to be paid by Justice Applegarth were more than the damages radio broadcaster Alan Jones, his employer Harbour Radio Pty Ltd and Radio 4BC were previously ordered to pay the Wagners in defamation damages.

The Wagners received $850,000 each in damages previously in the Jones and Harbour Radio decision.

Justice Applegarth made the orders today after a Supreme Court jury found a 60 Minutes program that aired on May 24, 2015, defamed the wealthy businessmen brothers.

The jury found the program falsely imputed that the Wagners sought to conceal the truth about the role their quarry played in causing the catastrophic Grantham flood.

The jury also found the program falsely imputed that the Wagners disgracefully refused to answer to the public for failing to take steps to prevent the quarry wall collapsing and causing the floods.

Justice Applegarth said the uncontested evidence at the trial was that each of the defamatory meanings was false.

“Being falsely accused of having failed to take steps to prevent their quarry wall from collapsing, causing the deaths of 12 people and the destruction of a town, is an extraordinarily serious defamation,” Justice Applegarth said.

The judge found that the Nine Network was extremely careless in not verifying the truth of the serious allegation about the quarry.

Nine had information that contradicted the allegations, but did not air it, the judge said.

“The Nine Network was recklessly indifferent as to the truth or falsity of the imputations conveyed by the 60 Minutes program about the Wagners,” Justice Applegarth said, in a scathing judgment summary.

“The Nine Network’s conduct was unjustifiable or improper,” Justice Applegarth said.

A view of some of the damage caused by the 2011 flood.

Justice Applegarth said Mr Cater did not contact the Wagners about the allegations he made about the quarry.

He also disregarded evidence of an eyewitness which undermined part of his story.

The judge said it was also unjustifiable or improper that there was no apology or retraction by the defendants after the 2015 Grantham Flood Commission of Inquiry Report and last year’s Harbour Radio defamation decision.

Justice Applegarth said the defamation by 60 Minutes and Mr Cater caused “substantial injury” to the Wagners’ reputations for integrity and competence and great personal harm to them.

“This includes the distress of fearing what people around the nation were thinking of them and the hurt and outrage at being the subject of reckless journalism and an apparent vendetta by Mr Cater,” Justice Applegarth said.

Cars, parts of homes and flood damage in the town of Grantham, west of Brisbane, one of areas affected in flood-ravaged Queensland.

The judge said the amounts awarded to the Wagners were intended to publicly convey that the defendants’ conduct inflicted serious injuries.

“They seek to compensate the Wagners, to the extent that money can, for the great harm that these indefensible defamations have caused,” Justice Applegarth said.

Outside the Supreme Court today, Denis Wagner said the judgment sent a very clear message to all media that there was a community expectation that they tell the truth and report the facts.

“The trial was held before a jury that represented the community as a whole,” said Mr Wagner, who was with brothers John and Joe at court.

“This jury found, through due process, that 60 Minutes and Nick Cater slurred our reputation.

“What will come from this is that journalists and media can and will be held accountable if they do not report issues honestly and fairly.”

Mr Wagner said he and his brothers were grateful the facts had finally come out about the 60 Minutes program.

“It’s been very challenging,” Mr Wagner said.

“This 60 Minutes program was broadcast all around Australia to more than 1 million viewers.

“It did have a profound effect on us, on us individually and as a family.”

Originally published as 60 Minutes Grantham floods defamation: Wagner brothers win $3.69 million