Pauline Hanson wins appeal against former One Nation member Brian Burston after setting aside $250,000 in defamation damages
- Pauline Hanson wins appeal to quash libel suit
- She had been ordered to pay $250,000 to Brian Burston
- A former One Nation member sued Ms Hanson over her comments
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has won a legal victory after reversing $250,000 in libel damages awarded after she made claims relating to the conduct of a former NSW senator.
Ms Hanson was ordered to pay the amount in October after the Federal Court ruled her comments on the Nine’s Today program in March 2019 were “seriously damaging” Brian Burston’s reputation.
As well as falsely claiming Mr Burston sexually abused a colleague, Ms Hanson also falsely claimed he assaulted One Nation chief of staff James Ashby without provocation in parliament, the judge heard Robert Bromwich at the time.
But the findings and damages were rejected by the full court on Wednesday after a successful appeal by Ms Hanson.
Mr Burston was also ordered to pay the One Nation leader’s legal costs for the libel case and appeal.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson (pictured) has won a legal victory after she overturned $250,000 in libel damages
The One Nation leader has made comments about former member Brian Burston (pictured), falsely saying he sexually abused a female colleague and assaulted One Nation chief of staff James Ashby without provocation at the Parliament.
In his earlier judgement, Judge Bromwich was scathing about Mr Burston’s general behaviour, calling it ‘objectively false and inappropriate’.
The ex-senator’s conduct consisted of telling an employee, “You probably just need a good f***.”
During the seven-day libel trial, the court heard Mr Burston take another staff member’s face before giving him a ‘long, hard kiss’ and shoving $100 between her breasts at another occasion.
Ms Hanson filed a countersuit in Federal Court in November 2020, claiming that Mr Burston’s defamation case and sexual harassment allegations against him constituted discrimination.
This case is still ongoing.
