LNP faces huge payout in bitter defamation war

Disendorsed Brisbane councillor takes Qld’s Liberal National Party hierarchy to the Supreme Court.

Former LNP councillor and whip Kate Richards. Picture: Peter Wallis

Queensland’s Liberal National Party hierarchy has been slapped with a defamation lawsuit by a Brisbane City councillor who was disendorsed after party powerbrokers made allegations against her to the corruption watchdog.

Former LNP councillor and whip Kate Richards, who was cleared by the Crime and Corruption Commission, has filed a Supreme Court lawsuit against members of the LNP’s governing body, the state executive, as well as the party’s secretive president’s committee.

The extraordinary legal action brought by Ms Richards names her former boss, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, among the defendants, as well as former LNP president David Hutchinson, who resigned this year over his links with Clive Palmer.

It caps off a year of bitter division within the LNP, which has been gripped by allegations of branch stacking, unfair party expulsions and suspensions, and the use of star chamber-like candidate vetting and disciplinary hearings to fortify a small group of officials.

In a January interview with The Australian, Ms Richards accused the “faceless men” of the LNP of running a vendetta against her.

She faced a grilling at closed-door candidate vetting sessions before the LNP referred allegations to the CCC and pressured her to withdraw from preselection ahead of the council elections in March.

At the time, Mr Hutchinson took the extraordinary step of issuing a media statement confirming that he had referred the “extremely grave’’ allegations to the CCC, but then refused to offer any details.

A week before the local government elections — in which Ms Richards unsuccessfully ran as an independent for her Pullenvale ward in Brisbane’s west — the CCC said none of the allegations were substantiated.

In its statement clearing Ms Richards, the CCC blasted the LNP for issuing a media release in December last year announcing it had referred the then-councillor to the watchdog.

The CCC said it was “disappointing” that the complaint had been publicised.

“The publication of a complaint can also lead to unsubstantiated allegations being aired publicly, and may give the appearance a complaint is motivated for political gain or other reasons,’’ the CCC said in its statement at the time.

In November, Ms Richards ­issued a “concerns notice” to the 30-plus members of the LNP’s state executive about the looming defamation action.

In a later letter to state executive members, LNP director Michael O’Dwyer — who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit — said the party “will indemnify you” in the proceedings.

Several of the LNP figures named in the lawsuit have resigned from official positions in the party over recent months, including Gold Coast lawyer Bernard Ponting who was involved in the candidate vetting sessions.

A senior LNP insider told The Australian that it was feared the lawsuit could “cost the party millions of dollars”.

Ms Richards, a mother of three who had worked for the city council for 10 years before entering politics, issued a statement through her lawyers saying: “With great reluctance, I have had no choice other than to commence defamation action.”

Earlier this year, Ms Richards unsuccessfully sought an apology from the LNP.

An LNP spokesman on Thursday said he could not comment on the lawsuit.