Court affirms: Brander is still racist

Court affirms: Brander is still racist

By Stan Smith

ADELAIDE — The South Australian Supreme Court has reaffirmed an earlier court decision that Michael Brander is a "racist in the worst sense". This is despite its January 12 ruling partially favouring Brander's appeal in a defamation case.

Brander, the leader of the extreme right-wing organisation National Action, sued Messenger Newspapers' editor, Des Ryan, over an editorial published in 1995. Brander claimed that the editorial had defamed him by implying that he was motivated by juvenile attention seeking, was effeminate, had homosexual tendencies, took drugs and gained office by winning a urinating contest.

The defamation action was first dismissed in the Adelaide Magistrate's Court in January 1999, when Justice Cannon found that Ryan was justified in calling Brander racist "because he is racist". Justice Cannon also found that Ryan's other statements were protected by "qualified privilege" and constituted "fair comment on a matter of public interest".

Brander appealed to the Supreme Court on several grounds, including the finding that he was racist. Justice Wicks reaffirmed most of the earlier findings. However, he found that the imputations that Brander was motivated by juvenile attention seeking and was effeminate were defamatory and were not protected by qualified privilege or fair comment.

The matter has been referred back to the Adelaide Magistrate's Court to assess damages. The legal bill alone is expected to be several thousand dollars.

Brander, in an unusual response, has so far refused to comment on the judgement. However, he did state that he believed that the determination of racism was a matter for the Australian public to decide and not the courts.

Anti-racism activist Nat Thomass told Green Left Weekly that the "groundswell of anti-racism sentiment over the past few years against Pauline Hanson, the Howard government and National Action itself is ample proof that the recent court decisions against Brander only confirm what the majority of the Australian public has been saying for quite some time".

From GLW issue 389