Jacinta Price sued for defamation by land council chief

Outspoken Liberal Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is being sued by the head of an Aboriginal land council over a media statement she claims defamed her by implying she was unfit for the job.

The hearing of the case in the Federal Court was adjourned for seven days from Monday before Judge Michael Wheelahan in Darwin.

A statement of claim by Central Land Council chief executive Lesley Turner said a press statement the senator made in July 2024 incorrectly suggested he no longer had the support of a majority of councillors.

It was alleged that it was falsely reported that a motion of no confidence had been passed by council members against Mr Turner.

The senator’s release implied that Mr Turner had “behaved so unprofessionally as to warrant his dismissal” and was “unfit to continue his role as CEO”, the court heard.

The Northern Territory senator’s claims were allegedly published by the NT News in an article titled “Motion of no confidence in Lesley Turner rejected”.

The newspaper later publicly apologized to Mr Turner and retracted the article.

In October 2024, Judge Wheelahan ordered Senator Price to pay $1,500 after his legal team failed to present its defense in time for a hearing on the defamation case.

Senator Price rose to prominence in 2023 by campaigning against a ‘yes’ vote ahead of the defeated referendum on whether Indigenous Voices should be allowed into parliament.

He has long called for oversight of federally funded Indigenous organizations.

In September, Senator Price was sacked from his shadow portfolio of defense industry and defense personnel for suggesting the government favored Indian immigrants because they voted Labour.

This led to Liberal leader Sussan Ley demanding his resignation.