Rob Pyne defamation: Cairns councillor hit with contempt claim after being sued by LGAQ boss Greg Hallam

Cairns politician Rob Pyne has been ordered to delete reams of blog articles, social media posts and YouTube videos after being hit with contempt of court proceedings related to a long-running defamation case against him.

CAIRNS politician Rob Pyne has been ordered to delete reams of blog articles, social media posts and YouTube videos after being slapped with contempt of court proceedings related to a long-running defamation case against him.

The embattled Cairns councillor and former MP claims he is facing bankruptcy if he loses a three-year legal battle with Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) chief executive Greg Hallam.

A bankruptcy declaration would make him unable to hold office and force a by-election in Division 2.

Mr Hallam filed for $2.5m in damages against four defendants in 2018, including a $500,000 claim against the then-MP over allegedly defamatory Facebook posts Mr Hallam said falsely questioned his integrity.

Division 2 Cairns regional councillor Rob Pyne is facing a defamation claim made by LGAQ CEO Greg Hallam over a series of allegedly defamatory Facebook posts made while he was a state MP. Picture: Stewart McLean

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Far from staying silent until the August trial, Cr Pyne has been prolific on social media with blog posts labelling defamation litigation “an abuse of power”, a spiel on Facebook saying freedom of speech is “under attack” and a YouTube video saying the LGAQ wanted to shut him down and was using defamation law to do it.

LGAQ CEO Greg Hallam. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

Cr Pyne, who describes himself as a “champion of the underdog”, signed off the video by calling on the public to support him on social media.

District Court Judge David Reid has ordered Cr Pyne to remove the video “until further order or until delivery of the verdict in the trial”, alongside multiple other posts including one with a picture of Mr Hallam’s face superimposed on the body of Star Wars intergalactic gangster Jabba the Hut.

A screenshot from Rob Pyne’s since-deleted YouTube video. Picture: Supplied

Judge Reid further ordered Cr Pyne must (be restrained from publishing … any matters to substantially the same effect as those complained of in the blog, the video, the second blog, the third blog, the second video, the fourth blog and the impugned associated posts, including but not limited to the six threatened further episodes of ‘How to defamation guide – Survival Advice’”.

Cr Pyne, who has a law degree, is expected to represent himself when his two-week defamation trial starts in mid-August.

The contempt of court hearing will be held after the defamation case has reached its judgment.

The LGAQ and Mr Hallam did not wish to comment.

Originally published as Rob Pyne defamation: Cairns councillor hit with contempt claim after being sued by LGAQ boss Greg Hallam