Ex-Cook Shire manager sues council over ‘fabricated’ racist email

An ex-Cook Shire manager falsely accused of sending a racist email that sparked community anger is taking her former employer to court, claiming damages for the psychological injury she said was caused by the council’s failure to address the ‘fabricated’ email circulated in her name.

Community anger was sparked in Cooktown when a fabricated, racist email, said to be written by a manager in the council was ‘aired publicly’ several times in 2017. Picture: Peter Carruthers

An ex-Cook Shire Council manager falsely accused of sending a racist email that sparked community anger is taking her former employer to court, claiming damages for the psychiatric injury she said was caused by the council’s failure to address the “fabricated” email circulated in her name.

The racist correspondence, referred to in court as the “dirty bastards email”, falsely contained the name of then-Cook Shire Council business services manager, Ellanna Habermann, and used the slur to describe people associated with a local Indigenous organisation.

Barrister for Ms Habermann, Justin Greggery KC said the false email was circulated in the Cooktown community in early 2017, and later tabled under privilege in Queensland parliament, and again circulated in the community through social media.

“The setting for these events is Cooktown – a place one of our witnesses might describe as ‘Australia’s largest fenceless asylum’,” Mr Greggery told Cairns Supreme Court at the start of the civil case.

“This case is about a highly capable woman whose psychological state became the collateral damage in long-running tensions of a racial nature and local government nature with the Cooktown community.”

Mr Greggery said the trouble started in early 2017 when Ms Habermann had been trying to progress a longstanding unpaid rates issue and the future of a tourist operation on the Endeavour River by Cooktown Cruises.

Ms Habermann had been trying to progress an unpaid rates issue for a tourism operation running cruises on the Endeavour River before the fabricated email emerged in the community. Picture: Brad Newton

Gungarde Community Centre Aboriginal Corporation also had an interest in the cruise business, and the false email was circulated to them by a third party, the court heard.

The email surfaced again six months later, the court was told, in a bundle of documents tabled to the Queensland Parliament by then-member for Cairns Rob Pyne, when he made allegations of bullying and called for the Cook Shire Council to be placed into administration in 2017.

He said council’s failure to address the issue internally and publicly between the first and second airing of the fabricated email was the basis of the personal injuries claim.

“Ms Habermann’s claim for damages is founded upon the breach of the employer’s duty of care to … avoid a foreseeable risk of psychiatric injury to her in the discharge of her employment duties with the Cook Shire Council – more particularly the breach comprises omissions to take steps to avoid and minimise the harm of attacks by third parties on the plaintiff in her conduct as employee,” Mr Greggery said.

“It is what occurred – or did not occur – in the six months that ought to have put the defendant on notice of the foreseeable risk of psychiatric injury.”

Mr Greggery said Ms Habermann had written about her concerns and submitted a number of Workplace Health and Safety reports in that time period.

Ms Habermann says Cook Shire Council breached its duty of care to her by failing to take appropriate action to address a fabricated racist email circulated in her name, claiming she suffered psychological injury, Cairns Supreme Court has been told.

“Although the fact that the email was fabricated was admitted in these proceedings, the damaging nature of the email was enhanced by the undercurrent of race relations in Cooktown … it was also enhanced in its damaging effect by a highly vocal residents and ratepayers community group who alleged corruption and maladministration within the council regularly and the ‘dirty bastards’ email resonated with both of those undercurrents.”

The court was told that as a result of the “attacks” on her and the publicity, Ms Habermann suffered from a psychiatric injury, and had been experiencing anxiety, trouble sleeping and was drinking up to 1.5 bottles of tequila every two days for a period of time.

She sought medical help but, after taking extended sick leave, Ms Habermann had to leave her job, the court was told.

The council is defending the claim and the civil hearing before Justice James Henry is expected to last for at least a week.

Originally published as Ex-Cook Shire manager sues council over ‘fabricated’ racist email