Former MP’s win against $40,000 fine for Facebook posts
Adelaide Lang |
Former Liberal MP Andrew Laming has won a High Court case against a $40,000 fine imposed over three illegal campaign messages posted on social media.
He was the Liberal MP for Bowman, in southeast Queensland, when he posted on the “Redland Hospital: Let’s fight for fair funding” Facebook page ahead of the 2019 federal election.
The posts between December 2018 and May 2019 were found to have not been properly authorised with his name and area of residence, as required for political communication by candidates.
Dr Laming was initially fined $20,000 by the Federal Court for three contraventions of federal election law.
But the Australian Electoral Commission appealed, arguing the former MP contravened the law 28 times – equal to the number of people who saw the Facebook posts.
The Full Court of the Federal Court agreed and doubled the fine to $40,000, so Dr Laming took the fight to the High Court.
On Wednesday, the court ruled the contraventions occurred when the posts were created, rather than when they were seen.
Dr Laming welcomed the decision as an end to the years-long legal tussle.
“I’m satisfied with the result and I hope it will lead to a sensible conclusion of the matter,” he told AAP.
The electoral commission was ordered to pay Dr Laming’s legal bill for his successful appeal to the High Court.
The commission has been contacted for comment.
Although the majority of the judges agreed, Justice James Edelman dissented and called on parliament to clarify the relevant section of the Electoral Act in relation to digital communication.
Unless an amendment was made, he said, there would be a “radical change” in the digital equivalent of the treatment of a campaigner who committed 1000 contraventions by distributing as many pamphlets.
“The political campaigner of today will commit only a single contravention by an electronic message transmitted and received by 1000, 10,000, 100,000 or 1,000,000 unique (social media) profiles,” Justice Edelman wrote.
Dr Laming retired from politics in 2022 after a series of controversies, including a $10,000 travel expenses scandal.
AAP
