How an offensive tweet is going to cost Mark Latham more than $500,000

The outgo of firebrand erstwhile Labor person Mark Latham's homophobic tweet astir a governmental rival has much than tripled and is acceptable to outgo much than fractional a cardinal dollars.

Independent NSW MP Alex Greenwich was awarded $140,000 successful damages successful September aft helium successfully sued the erstwhile national absorption leader.

Mr Latham, present a right-wing autarkic MP, was recovered to person defamed his left-wing workfellow successful a tweet that explicitly described a enactment act.

Mr Latham rejected a colony connection a period aft the tweet was posted, the Federal Court was told.

The connection progressive a retraction of the comments, $20,000 successful compensation and an apology that Mr Greenwich's barrister said was not 'grovelling oregon humiliating' oregon requiring an admittance the comments were defamatory.

Instead, they recognised it caused distress, Matt Collins KC said.

A tribunal aboriginal recovered Mr Latham's homophobic tweet exposed Mr Greenwich, who is cheery and a salient LGBTQI assemblage advocate, to a torrent of hateful maltreatment including decease threats. 

It was posted astatine the clip of the 2023 authorities predetermination successful effect to a station that quoted Mr Greenwich describing Mr Latham arsenic a 'disgusting quality being'.

Mr Latham's lawyer argued the erstwhile One Nation MP should lone person to wage a 4th of his rival's costs due to the fact that it was not unreasonable for him to garbage the colony offer.

He noted an apology to a governmental rival 'could beryllium utilized against' Mr Latham for the remainder of his career, and stressed the trouble of complying with the request to disable and show commentary connected his apology. 

Justice David O'Callaghan agreed it was not unreasonable for Mr Latham to cull the offer, uncovering the undertakings sought were 'very wide and unlimited successful time'.

But the justice ordered the erstwhile Labor person wage his rival's ineligible costs connected a party-party basis, which usually covers astir 70 per cent of the fees incurred.

Mr Greenwich's ineligible costs person been estimated to transcend $600,000.

The tweet besides outgo Mr Latham politically aft the governing Labor enactment cited it arsenic a crushed it would not prosecute with him connected authorities successful the evenly balanced precocious house.

His eight-year word - attracting an yearly basal wage of $172,500 - runs until 2031.

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