One Nation senator Pauline Hanson’s defamation suit thrown out

A former One Nation senator who sued Pauline Hanson tried to shove money between a staffer’s breasts and kiss her “passionately”, a court has found.

Pauline Hanson has escaped paying $250,000 to former One Nation senator Brian Burston after a defamation suit was thrown out.

Senator Hanson was last year ordered to pay Mr Burston $250,000 in damages for defaming him on Nine’s the Today show in March 2019.

Ms Hanson claimed the former NSW senator sexually abused a female staffer in his parliamentary office.

The Federal Court on Wednesday dismissed the order made last year.

Mr Burston was also ordered to pay Ms Hanson’s legal fees for the original suit, with costs incurred by Ms Hanson during the appeal to be “assessed or agreed”.

Lawyer Danny Eid said Ms Hanson was “elated” at the outcome following a years-long legal battle between the pair.

Mr Burston, 74, sensationally quit One Nation to join the United Australia Party after a public breakdown in the pair’s relationship over the government’s corporate tax cut plans.

A defamation suit against Pauline Hanson has been thrown out. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

In its judgment, the Full Court found that Ms Hanson had proven substantial truth in relation to sexual harassment claims.

“Mr Burston, a man in his 70s, undoubtedly held a position of power over his employees,” the justices said.

“That power differential, as well as the working relationship and environment, necessarily colours Mr Burston’s conduct.”

The justices ruled that two employees, Terri-lea Vairy and Wendy Leach, had endured a “profoundly unbearable workplace”.

Ms Vairy was subjected to repeated sexualised comments about her body and intrusive questions about her sex life, they found.

Mr Burston was also found by the justices to have attempted to shove money between Ms Vairy’s breasts and kissed her “passionately”.

“Mr Burston sent Ms Vairy text messages in which, inter alia, he made sexualised comments and repeatedly wrote that he loved her,” they said.

“The conduct continued and escalated over two years (and) was degrading and humiliating.”

Mr Burston was also found to have leaked to the media a secretly recorded interview of Ms Vairy being asked about a sexual relationship.

Ms Leach was also subjected to unwanted advances, including one in which Mr Burston said: “Oh Wendy, you probably just need a good f**k,” the judgment reveals.

“After Ms Leach responded making light of it, her evidence was that it quickly became apparent to her that Mr Burston was not joking.

Brian Burston was ordered to pay Ms Hanson’s legal fees Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

“(Mr Burston) responded by grabbing Ms Leach by the face and saying, ‘I’m not joking. I can come around to your place. No one would need to know. It will be the best f**k you’ve ever had’.”

The justices also dismissed claims made in court by Mr Burton’s lawyers that the abuse had to be ongoing to be categorised as abuse.

Mr Burston likened the definition of sexual abuse to “the abuse of children in religious institutions … allegations in the #MeToo movement, Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein (...) cases like that”.

According to the judgment, Ms Hanson also claimed that Mr Burston assaulted One Nation chief of staff James Ashby without provocation in Parliament House.

Justices Wigney, Wheelahan, and Abraham ruled the imputation of that claim, aired on the same Today show program, was not carried.

Lawyer Danny Eid said Ms Hanson was ‘elated’ at the outcome. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

In their written judgment, the justices ruled the imputation that Mr Ashby had been attacked without provocation had not been proven.

The justices focused on Ms Hanson’s use of the phrase “never laid a hand on them”, which they said did not mean he had not done anything.

“To the contrary, the statement was used in the context of saying that it was not a fight, but that Mr Burston was the physical aggressor as Mr Ashby had not laid a hand on or physically touched Mr Burston,” they said.

Allegations of misconduct arising from a Facebook post by Ms Hanson in 2019 were established to be substantially true in the original suit.

Ms Hanson this week dismissed Mark Latham as NSW One Nation leader. Picture: Gaye Gerard / NCA NewsWire

A further claim that Mr Burston brought the Senate into “disrepute” by his behaviour, conveyed in a text, was not carried by the court.

Likewise, imputations that Mr Burston “behaved disgracefully” by cheating on his wife with staffers was also not carried.

The appeal comes as Ms Hanson and former One Nation member Mark Latham face separate, unrelated legal actions in court.

The One Nation leader this week dismissed Mr Latham as the party’s leader in NSW as the controversial MP faces a defamation suit.

NSW independent MP Alex Greenwich lodged the suit following an allegedly defamatory tweet about his sexual identity.

Ms Hanson is herself facing a second unrelated defamation suit lodged by Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi earlier this year.

Both matters are still before the court.