Former Labor leader Mark Latham's 76-page written defence to a defamation case filed against him by journalist and former Green's candidate Osman Faruqi has been been struck out in its entirety by a federal judge, who labelled it "etraordinary" and in parts "scandalous".
Mr Faruqi is suing Mr Latham for defamation over comments he made in a YouTube video titled The Rise of Anti-White Racism and Terrorist Plots in Australia.
Mr Faruqi claims Mr Latham defamed him in the video, uploaded in August last year, by suggesting he had incited or encouraged terrorist violence.
In that video Mr Latham singles out Mr Faruqi and is heard saying: “Anyone out there, on the left of politics in particular, that’s fermenting [sic] hatred of white people, the rise of anti-white racism in Australia, and also those fermenting [sic] the idea of an Islamic master race in Australia, they are aiding and abetting Islamic terrorism.”
In the Federal Court on Thursday, Justice Michael Wigney dismissed Mr Latham's entire defence - but granted him leave to file another one before September 28.
Mr Latham announced via Twitter that Justice Wigney's ruling "would be appealed"
"What sort of legal analysis is this?" he tweeted.
Justice Wigney labelled the lengthy defence document - which had 12 parts and nine schedules - “extraordinary”.
The document also contained a ‘dictionary’ of words and expressions used in the defence, including a description of certain “Islamic terrorist atrocities”.
"Mr Latham’s defence is, on just about any view, an extraordinary document. In order to address Mr Faruqi’s strike out application, it is necessary to attempt to come to grips with it. That is no mean feat," wrote Justice Wigney in his judgement.
Justice Wigney said the document raised many "beguiling" questions and the material was at times either "scandalous, frivolous or vexatious".
"What does the martyrdom of Christians in the Roman Empire between the reign of the Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus and Emperor Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus have to do with a defamation action commenced in Australia in 2017?" Justice Wigney asked.
Lawyers acting for Mr Faruqi, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, welcomed the judgement that also dismissed Mr Latham's argument their client sought to vilify white people when he tweeted about the citizenship saga involving Greens Senators Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters.
Journalist and former Green's candidate claims Mark Latham defamed him in a video the former Labor leader posted on YouTube last year. Source: Facebook
"Our client Mr Faruqi is a strong supporter of robust debate, but what occurred in this instance were baseless and dangerous attacks from Mr Latham that crossed a clear line," Josh Bornstein, the firm's principal, said in a statement.
