Mark Latham ordered to pay $100k in landmark sexual harassment case

NSW independent MP Alex Greenwich has won his vilification and sexual harassment case brought against upper house MP and former One Nation leader Mark Latham.

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) delivered its decision on Thursday,

after Mr Greenwich launched action against the former federal Labor leader over four public statements made by Mr Latham that, he claimed, breached the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act.

They include a tweet published by Mr Latham in March 2023 which contained graphic homophobic slurs, after Mr Greenwich called Mr Latham a “disgusting human being” in a Sydney Morning Herald article over a talk delivered at a church that attracted protests. Mr Latham also made several follow-up statements.

Mr Latham has been ordered to pay Mr Greenwich $100,000 in compensation, and to remove any material posted online that vilified Mr Greenwich on the basis of his sexuality within 24 hours. He has also been directed to refrain from continuing or repeating any unlawful homosexual vilification of Mr Greenwich.

Mr Greenwich, who is a strong advocate for the LGBT community, welcomed the decision on Thursday and said social media is capable of being “a vehicle for unlawful vilification”.

“This decision sends a clear message: public figures are not above the law, and online platforms are not a space for unlawful vilification,” he said in a statement.

“I pursued this matter not only for myself, but for the many people across the LGBTQIA+ community who experience similar abuse and are told to accept it as part of public life or online debate.”

Senior NCAT Member Amanda Tibbey and General Members Maryanne Maher said the remarks made by Mr Latham described a presumed sexual act of Mr Greenwich in “crude and explicit language, and were “capable of inciting an ordinary member of [Mr Latham’s Twitter] audience to have hatred towards, serious contempt for, or to severely ridicule” Mr Greenwich.

“These proceedings are not a sport,” the members said.

“There is a real interest in finality of these proceedings, to the end that both litigants can move forward with their lives.

Mr Greenwich also sought an apology from Mr Latham, but given his “strongly worded” earlier statements, the members found there was little use in ordering one as it was “unlikely to be genuine”.

Both Mr Latham and Mr Greenwich were cross-examined in the tribunal during August 2025. Mr Latham told the tribunal he believed Mr Greenwich’s evidence was “based on a falsehood”.

NewsWire has contacted Mr Latham for comment.