Jacinta Price Responds to Defamation Case by Aboriginal Land Council Chief

NT Senator Jacinta Price has lodged an affidavit defending herself in a Federal Court defamation case

Shadow Defence Industry Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Nov. 20, 2024. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Senator Jacinta Price has submitted an 85-page affidavit to the Federal Court amid legal action brought by Aboriginal Central Land Council (CLC) Chief Executive Lesley Turner, who alleges the Northern Territory MP defamed him.

The case centres on a media release in which Senator Price suggested Turner lacked support within the CLC and said he had been removed from his position.

Turner denies that a majority of CLC members opposed his role as CEO, as well as other statements made about his management of the group.

In an affidavit, filed and published on Nov. 5, Price outlined her concerns that the CLC had received more than $133 million in benefits, funding and royalties, which she said were not “reflected in the progress and conditions of Aboriginal people in Central Northern Territory.”

She also alleged that despite having a fraud policy, the CLC had not conducted a fraud risk assessment since it was introduced in 2021, that there was no fraud control plan and that a system of fraud control was not fully effective.

“They indicated to me a possible explanation for the concern I had, and which many other Indigenous people had expressed to me since Mr. Turner became CEO,” she said.

“The CLC was not transparent, appeared to favour particular families and individuals in making decisions, and had not improved or advanced the lives of constituents despite the millions of dollars it managed.”

Price further alleged that Turner had been spending a significant amount of time in Canberra, and that in June 2024, she received messages informing her of plans, supported by 90 delegates, to remove Turner from his role over concerns held by the group.

The Senator attached copies of messages discussing the alleged action, which the affidavit claims did not eventuate because “two men scared the other male delegates about possible legal repercussions from Mr. Turner if the motion was passed.”

Price had released a media statement on July 18, 2024, stating Turner had been ousted through a vote of no confidence, based on information which she claims was relayed to her by former Alice Springs Councillor and school principal Gavin Morris.

An article reporting the claim was published and later removed by the NT News on July 21. The story forms part of Turner’s defamation complaint.

A second statement issued that day did not state that Turner had been removed.

Price said it was her “experience and expectation” that journalists would verify political statements, including her own, before publishing.

She said she assumed the NT News reported reflected further confirmation that the CEO had been removed.

The Epoch Times contacted the CLC for comment, which referred the publication to Turner’s legal team.

The case remains before the Federal Court.