Alex Wood, one of the ‘18C Three’, hit with $41,000 legal bill

Former QUT student Alex Wood has now been billed more than $41,000 in costs to fund lawyers for Susan Moriarty.

A university student whose single Facebook post was vindicated by a Federal Circuit Court judge has now been billed more than $41,000 in costs to fund lawyers for Susan Moriarty, the solicitor for Cindy Prior.

Alex Wood, a junior graduate engineer in Brisbane, told The Weekend Australian yesterday the $41,336 legal bill was an unjust outcome, four years after Ms Prior told him to leave an indigenous-only computer lab at the Queensland University of Technology because he was white. The ejection of Mr Wood by Ms Prior on May 28, 2013, led to him posting on Facebook soon after: “Just got kicked out of the unsigned indigenous computer room. QUT stopping segregation with segregation?”

Ms Prior, who went on stress leave from her job at QUT almost immediately, cited the Facebook post as well as follow-up comments by other university students in a complaint under section 18 of the Racial Discrimination Act to the Human Rights Commission in May 2014.

She cited the Facebook posts in a subsequent $250,000 damages claim against Mr Wood and six of the students.

Mr Wood said he wanted to put the case behind him after Federal Circuit Court judge Michael ­Jarrett ruled three months ago that his Facebook post was “rallying against discrimination” and not a breach of section 18C.

The court heard that Ms Prior’s racial vilification allegations were “of the highest level of seriousness”, and involved an unreasonable pursuit.

Mr Wood’s barrister Anthony Collins has said: “They could never have succeeded. There was an absence of scrutiny by Ms ­Moriarty.”

However, Judge Jarrett, who ruled that the action was not ­entirely without merit, rejected a bid by Mr Wood’s lawyers to have his costs borne by Ms Moriarty personally. The $41,336 legal bill is for the solicitors and a senior barrister for Ms Moriarty to try to stave off the bid to force her to be personally ­liable for costs.

Mr Wood said it was wrong that his lawyers were unlikely to be paid their significant costs by Ms Prior due to her financial limitations while he would have to take a bank loan and ask for public help to pay Ms Moriarty’s legal bill.

“I am in no way a racist but for those unfamiliar with the case it may brand me for life,’’ he said.

“We offered so many opportunities to stop it.

“I don’t have the money to meet these costs. I don’t think she has the money to pay more than $200,000 for the three students’ costs. There are no winners in this case.”

Mr Wood said he intended to give evidence at the free speech ­inquiry set up by the Turnbull government when it sits in Brisbane next week.

Mr Wood’s solicitor Damien Bourke said he was “extremely disappointed to find that Alex hasn’t recovered any of his costs in defending himself and is now being pursued for costs”.

“Alex’s costs in defending his comment and now responding to an appeal application are substantial — in excess of $100,000,’’ Mr Bourke said.

Three of the seven students paid after being told by Ms Moriarty, on behalf of Ms Prior, that $5000 payments could release them from the $250,000 claim.

Ms Moriarty, who missed a deadline to lodge an appeal and blamed Judge Jarrett for the lapse, has repeatedly attacked The Australian for ongoing reports about the case, and declined to be interviewed.

Federal Court judge John Dowsett has reserved his decision on a bid by Ms Prior and her lawyers to seek leave to appeal the ­dismissal of her case.