Tablelands Regional Council apologises for statement falsely asserting resident was ‘dishonest’
A Far North local government has deleted a statement from its website while issuing an apology to a resident who has hit the council with a defamation notice.
A Far North resident has rejected an apology from his council, outlining his next moves as the local government deleted a statement from its website which had falsely asserted he acted “dishonestly”.
Tablelands Regional Council responded to a media release it had published on June 18, titled Pavilion Misinformation – which was an effort at the time to respond to community commentary around the iconic Malanda “Igloo”.
However, resident and pro-Igloo advocate Matt Lachlan, who was the subject of the council’s November 17 apology said he had served defamation concerns notices to TRC chief executive Nikola Stepanov and Mayor Rod Marti on September 18.
But when asked about the legal claim, a TRC spokesman said he would “not comment on individual legal matters and is not in a position to discuss any correspondence that may have been received or to speculate on legal processes.”
“Council can confirm that it issued an apology to Mr Lachlan on 17 November 2025 regarding a previous media release about the Patrick English Pavilion. The apology speaks for itself and was made in good faith,” the spokesman said.
“There was never any intent to single out or criticise any individual or group in (the) council’s communications.”
Mr Lachlan, who had also petitioned Local Government Minister Anne Leahy to investigate the council earlier this year, said he rejected the TRC’s apology.
“The apology published 17th November, 2025 is TRC’s mitigation attempt in ongoing legal matters,” he said via a statement.
“I will be proceeding with filing a defamation claim against both parties.”
In its November 17 public apology, the TRC referred to a now deleted media release from June 18, concerning the public narrative around the condition of the Patrick English Pavilion.
“It has been brought to council’s attention that the release asserted that Mr Matt Lachlan had acted dishonestly and deliberately in a manner designed to deceive the public in relation to that debate,” the apology read.
“The council’s comments should not be interpreted in that way – to do so would be false.
“It was not intended that the publication have that effect or carry any such allegation, and any such suggestion may be rejected. The council apologise to Mr Lachlan for the hurt and harm suffered should anyone have interpreted the publication in that way.”
Separately, at its October meeting during a confidential session, minutes showed the council had moved a motion to delegate authority to the CEO to negotiate, finalise, and award the contract for the deconstruction works of the pavilion.
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Originally published as Tablelands Regional Council apologises for statement falsely asserting resident was ‘dishonest’
