By staff reporters
Embattled West Australian Liberal member for Canning Andrew Hastie will appear in the Perth Supreme Court on July 28, 2026 to give evidence in his defence allegedly for defaming Perth businessman Greg Poland.
Mr Poland alleges the West Australian MP and his office used a secret audio recording in a conspiracy to damage his reputation.
In 2019 when Mr Poland was the Peel Development chairman WAtoday published a series of articles which he claims portray him as corrupt and exerting improper influence over the WA Labor government.
The articles revealed his involvement in discussions of a plan to dump millions of tonnes of toxic soil from the Perth Airport Link rail project in the Peel region – about 80 kilometres south-west of Perth – and a failed Labor plan to reserve a percentage of the rock lobster industry’s catch to be sold locally.
In 2020 court proceedings Mr Hastie and his staff were subpoenaed to produce evidence of communications with a Peel landowner who Mr Poland’s lawyers allege unlawfully recorded a conversation with him, the landowner’s wife, and a Peel Development Commission officer at the Subiaco Hotel on January 15, 2019, before sending the audio to Mr Hastie’s office.
They allege the recording was then sent to WAtoday journalists — but conceded they did not know by whom — and, along with the articles, forms part of a conspiracy by the news outlet, Mr Hastie, and electoral staffers David Birch and Clare Bradley to damage Mr Poland’s reputation.
They argued a series of phone calls between the MP and WAtoday journalist Nathan Hondros, including a 22-minute call the day before the first article was published, were enough to infer that Mr Hastie may have had some control or given assent to the articles’ publication.
“We infer an agreement between the defendants from an unknown source providing, and Mr Hondros receiving, material forming the substance of the first and second articles and the predominant purpose was to cause harm,” they said.
Mr Poland is seeking the removal of the articles and damages for economic losses.
WAtoday is defending the claims.
Mr Hastie is due to appear in the Supreme Court Perth at 10am on July 28, 2026 and be cross-examined at 2.15pm.
“Perhaps they should have to have a well rounded career before entering politics.” JB
Yes, and not by working their way up through a government department.
And people with skills in diverse areas – no more lawyers please.
And sack the current Selectors please because they just give us more of the same.
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Question: does anyone love Australia and its people or is treading the light fantastic overseas to puff up egos all that can be offered?
Between Andrew Hastie, Julie Bishop and Linda Reynolds it’s not a zero it’s a negative number for WA. They are actually helping to make the local ALP look good. But to give them credit, that was their intention.
The voters fled to the Teals Party WEF infiltraitor Kate Chaney who does her best to approximate a Greater Perth Council and put federal politics in the too hard basket. Meanwhile we have local councils everywhere sending mayors off to Globalist conferences all over the world, to get them to do Klaus Swab’s bidding. The politicians were already next to useless and they’ve turned uselessness into a shemozzle worthy of gold-plating. The problem with these politicians the main resource they have is what’s between their ears and that’s not good enough. Perhaps they should have to have a well rounded career before entering politics. The electorate could demand this at the voting booth. It’s one of the reasons Malcolm Roberts is effective.