Alan Jones accused Wagner family of bribery in letter to Alan Joyce, court hears

The broadcaster wrote to Alan Joyce saying he was ‘disgusted’ at news Qantas would use the Wagners’ privately built airport, a court has heard.

Neill, left, John and Denis Wagner leave the Supreme Court in Brisbane, where they are suing talkback radio host Alan Jones. Picture: AAP

Broadcaster Alan Jones wrote to Qantas chief Alan Joyce to accuse Toowoomba’s Wagner family of engaging in bribery to get the airline to fly to their privately built airport, a court has heard.

Lawyers for the four Wagner brothers, who are seeking up to $4.8m in damages in a Supreme Court defamation case over broadcasts by Jones, told the court in Brisbane they received a copy of the correspondence from Qantas this week.

After viewing the alleged comments by the broadcaster to Mr Joyce, Neill Wagner told the court that he believed the comments from Jones suggest wrongdoing by his family.

“It was an allegation that we were bribing Qantas to come here,” Mr Wagner said.

He said: “It is nonsense”.

Alan Jones made comments on air about the Wagner family.

The court was told the September 2014 email exchange saw Jones writing to Mr Joyce to say he was “disgusted” at news Qantas would use the Wellcamp airport in Toowoomba, built by the Wagners.

Mr Joyce is said to have replied: “Their offer to Qantas is commercially very attractive.”

As part of his response, Jones allegedly wrote: “Of course these people will bribe you to go there.”

The alleged defamation relates mostly to comments made by Jones on his radio shows in 2014 and 2015 about the 2011 Grantham floods and the Wellcamp airport.

The trial continues.