A prominent Perth property developer has appeared in the Supreme Court for the first of an earmarked 13-day trial into allegations he was defamed after being accused of trying to secure a deal to dump millions of tonnes of toxic soil in the Peel region.
Strzelecki Group chairman Greg Poland quit his role as deputy chairman of the Peel Development Commission in 2019, following questions from WAtoday to several government ministers regarding that allegation.
Poland alleges two articles published in 2019 following his resignation are defamatory, and is suing the masthead for damages, with his lawyer Martin Bennett on Monday outlining the detail of the case.
The first article, regarding the dumping of the toxic sand, was written based on a recording obtained by journalists, which was also sent to Liberal MP Andrew Hastie. Hastie was in the public gallery on Monday to observe the proceedings.
Poland has brought defamation action against WAtoday, journalists Nathan Hondros and Kate Hedley, as well as several others including Hastie and former WA Liberal leader Zak Kirkup.
Hastie and Kirkup were both added to the proceedings over their alleged roles in the dissemination of the recording, however it remains unclear how Kirkup was alleged to have been involved.
In the recording, Poland can allegedly be heard telling a local business owner they could acquire a parcel of land in Myalup without going to tender, if they solved a headache for the state government – facilitating the dumping of “between two and eight tonnes” of toxic soil from the Forrestfield Airport Link to his land in Waroona.
Bennett told the court on Monday that the soil mentioned in the story was never toxic, and that there was a public document available that would have confirmed this to be the case.
That document, Preliminary site investigation and limited sampling – Perth Airport, was released by the engineering consultant AECOM, engaged to take soil samples around the airport, including in Forrestfield, over concerns with firefighting activities given that firefighting foam contains PFAS.
The findings of that report indicated the PFAS in all samples was less than the concentration needed to harm humans.
Bennett told the court that the soil should never have been categorised as toxic, and the journalists involved could have referred to this report but did not.
He said the source of their knowledge on what made the soil toxic needed to be questioned.
“If it is just because they were told it was toxic – that reasoning is fallacious,” Bennett said.
“Responsible reporting would have discovered this repo rt.”
In an email from Transport Minister Rita Saffioti’s media advisor, who was sent questions over the alleged soil transfer, information provided on background also confirmed that the soil was not considered toxic.
Another key complaint from Bennett was that his client was not directly contacted by journalists at this masthead. Instead, Poland and the Peel Development Commission were contacted for comment in the same email, and given one work day to respond.
Poland was unavailable during that time due to being involved in meetings.
Bennett told the court the first article was based on what Poland believed to have been a private conversation at the Subiaco Hotel that was recorded without Poland’s knowledge.
He argued that recording was also illegal, but was questioned by the judge because the meeting was about a public matter, on official business with the Peel Development Commission.
“You can have a private conversation for a public purpose,” Bennett said.
Poland has claimed that the first article infers he is “corrupt in that he arranges secret deals between the state government and private businesspeople without due process”, according to his statement of claim filed to the court, and that he “exerts improper political influence over members of the state government”.
The second article included in the proceedings alleges that Poland claimed an attempt to increase WA’s lobster catch had been his plan, but that the minister for regional development – at the time Alannah MacTiernan – had botched it.
The second article allegedly implies that Poland also “falsely exaggerates boasting about his political influence”.
Holly Thompson is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in education and the environment.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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