Election 2022: Independent Zoe Daniel calls in lawyers

Teal independent Zoe Daniel has formally threatened her Liberal opponent Tim Wilson with a defamation suit.

Goldstein independent candidate Zoe Daniel. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Teal independent Zoe Daniel has formally threatened her Liberal opponent Tim Wilson with a defamation suit, accusing him of making comments implying that she and her campaign are “anti-Semitic” and “racist”.

The Assistant Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction has hit back, accusing the former ABC journalist of trying to “use the law to silence her critics”.

The stoush comes as Mr Wilson battles to hold onto his bayside Melbourne seat of Goldstein, with a YouGov poll commissioned by The Australian last week showing he was trailing Ms Daniel 48-52 after preferences.

It also follows controversy over Ms Daniel’s signing of an open letter accusing Israel of maintaining an “apartheid regime against Palestinians”, and revelations that senior members of her campaign team have publicly called for Jewish advocacy groups to “shut up”, and compared Scott Morrison with Adolf Hitler.

Dated last Friday, a strongly-worded legal letter penned by Michael Bradley of Marque Lawyers on Ms Daniel’s behalf states that Mr Wilson has “been observed by many people to be actively campaigning at pre-polling centres in the Goldstein electorate during the past week”.

“In the course of this, you have been observed and heard to make frequent and repeated comments regarding ‘anti-Semitism’ and ­‘racism’, unmistakeably (sic) directed at Ms Daniel and her campaign,” he writes.

“For example, on 12 May 2022 you said to a person who was preparing to film you: ‘I would just like to talk about how disgusted I am with the anti-Semitism within the Zoe Daniel campaign.’

“You have also been heard to comment, while walking past volunteers handing out how-to-vote cards for Ms Daniel, ‘How much more anti-Semitism do we need?’

“This conduct by you is occurring in the context of a sustained campaign by you and the News Limited (sic) media organisation, targeting Ms Daniel and her campaign with persistent baseless accusations that she is ‘anti-Israel’ and associated unmistakeable (sic) implications that she is anti-Semitic.

“While you are no doubt being careful to place yourself in a position where you can plausibly deny that you have been making defamatory statements about Ms Daniel, on our instructions you have failed to achieve that object. It would be obvious to a reasonable and fair-minded observer that your defamatory slurs are targeted at her.”

News Limited is the predecessor of News Corp Australia, publisher of The Australian.

Mr Bradley accuses Mr Wilson of conveying the “false and defamatory imputations” that she is “a racist”, “anti-Semitic” and “harbours racial prejudice specifically against Jewish people”.

“The imputations are baseless and false. Ms Daniel is not racist nor anti-Semitic. There is no evidence to support a suggestion that she is,” he writes.

The letter – a concerns notice for the purposes of the Defamation Act – demanded Mr Wilson “immediately cease and desist from making public comments, in any forum or medium, directly or implicitly suggesting that Ms Daniel is racist or anti-­Semitic”, “pay Ms Daniel’s legal costs in the amount of $2750”, and respond to the letter by noon on Monday.

Mr Wilson told The Australian on Tuesday that he had not acceded to the demands.

“It’s extraordinary Zoe Daniel is trying to use the law to silence anyone criticising her policies, and also silencing candidates calling out racism,” he said. “I won’t be intimidated by her campaign.”

In response to questions about why she had chosen to pursue legal action, a spokeswoman for Ms Daniel referred The Australian to the letter, saying she had “nothing more to add”.