Mayor wins $250,000 over defamatory Facebook posts

A suburban mayor has been ordered to pay $250,000 in damages after a court found a taxpayer slandered him on Facebook during his anger over plans to open a cafe at a dog beach.

City of Canning Mayor Patrick Hall has sued Richard Aldridge, a constituent of the Western Australian council, over a series of social media posts and publications in 2021 and 2022.

Seven Facebook posts and statements, one of which was published by a local newspaper, suggested Mr Hall had abused his position as mayor and acted illegally for his political advantage by endorsing certain candidates for the council.

In making its decision, the Supreme Court said Mr Aldridge’s “stubborn arrogance” had blinded him from any objective perspective and that he had “recklessly disregarded” the facts due to his “malicious intent and deep personal resentment towards Mr Hall”.

Judge Marcus Solomon wrote that Mr. Aldridge had developed an “obsessive preoccupation” with Mr. Hall that stemmed from his “deep but disciplined anger.”

It was the council’s plan to open a cafe in a park next to the river and Mr. Aldridge’s trigger for the impact it would have on the dog beach.

“This anger gave rise to Mr. Aldridge’s zealous determination to attack Mr. Hall at every opportunity,” Judge Solomon said.

“Mr. Aldridge’s belief in the truth of his defamatory statements was the product of his disdain for Mr. Hall.”

The gist of Mr. Aldridge’s defense at the hearing was that his publications were honest opinions, mostly accurate, on matters of public interest.

During the hearing, Mr Aldridge claimed Mr Hall’s case against him was an abuse of process.

He said his real aim was not to prosecute libel allegations against him, but to intimidate and hinder his ability to exercise political freedom, which the court rejected.

Judge Solomon found that Mr Aldridge was unable to accept alternative views on his publications and that his “self-righteous anger” was manifested in his “perception of himself as a heroic victim in terms of the complaints made against him”.