Former NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham’s day at the horse races has ended in a potential loss of almost $180,000 after the MP was served with bankruptcy papers while at the Royal Randwick racecourse.
The bankruptcy notice stems from independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich’s successful defamation lawsuit against Latham over a “vile, homophobic” Twitter post from March 2023.
Latham was spotted being served with papers by a representative of Greenwich, while attending The Golden Eagle racing event on Saturday.
When approached by a News Corp journalist who witnessed the serving, Latham refused to comment, calling the reporter a “nosy dickhead”.
Latham is being pursued for about $180,000 in court-ordered damages and interest. When factoring in unpaid legal costs , his total bill exceeds $500,000.
Speaking to the Herald , Latham complained he was targeted by the server and media.
“When the left say, ‘Lower the temperature in politics,’ I was followed today for hours at the races (of all places) by some server (to deliver documents my lawyer already had) plus the Tele journalist and photographer,” he said.
The Federal Court upheld the original finding that Latham’s post, which was highly graphic and referred to Greenwich’s sexuality, defamed the MP.
Greenwich declined to comment on the serving, pointing instead to a statement he made earlier this month after the High Court dismissed Latham’s final appeal.
“Mr Latham defamed me in a sexually aggressive social media post that subjected me to an avalanche of homophobic hate,” Greenwich said. “Mr Latham has repeatedly refused to take responsibility for his actions, instead pursuing appeals through the courts,” he said.
Latham has 21 days to pay the outstanding debt. If he cannot, or does not pay, he can then apply for a court to declare himself officially bankrupt.
Under the NSW Constitution Act 1902, any member of parliament who “becomes bankrupt or takes the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors” must have their seat declared vacant.
In June, Latham quietly listed his sprawling five-bedroom family home for $2.4 million, but he says it had nothing to do with mounting legal bills and damages owed in his feud with Greenwich .
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