Hannay Lawyers settles defamation case with Campbell Newman and Jarrod Bleijie
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Former LNP premier Campbell Newman and former attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie have reached an out-of-court settlement in a defamation case involving Hannay Lawyers.
The private settlement has reportedly resulted in a taxpayer-funded payout of more than half a million dollars.
The payout will result in a review of legal indemnity guidelines which protect politicians who are sued in the course of their duties.
The lawsuit was brought by Gold Coast solicitors Chris and Daniel Hannay, whose clients include criminal motorcycle gang members.
The Hannay's sought more than $1 million in damages over claims made by Mr Newman that bikie lawyers were a part of a criminal gang network.
Mr Newman's comments in February 2014 prompted the state's Bar Association to demand a retraction and an apology.
The remarks also drew criticism from the Queensland Law Society.
Mr Bleijie later defended Mr Newman, saying he was responding specifically to a question about Hannay Lawyers on the Gold Coast.
The Hannay's, who have defended bikies, then launched defamation proceedings against the then-premier and attorney-general.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has ordered a review of the legal indemnity guidelines that protect politicians.
"I am very concerned about it," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"I believe that if you are a Minister of the Crown, you need to take some responsibility for what you say in public.
"That is why my government will give serious consideration to the redrafting of those guidelines.
"I have written to my Director-General last Friday asking him very clearly to revisit legal indemnity guidelines for ministers into the future.
"Cabinet will be discussing those guidelines when we next meet next Monday in Brisbane."
Mr Newman and Mr Bleijie refused to apologise
Ms Palaszczuk would not be drawn on reports that Mr Newman and Mr Bleijie refused to offer public apologies to the Hannay's, which reportedly could have reduced the taxpayer-funded payout.
"The details of this particular case are subject to legal professional privilege," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"I can only speak about specific matters when it comes to this particular matter in terms of when the legal indemnity was provided.
"I want to make it very clear that the approval for legal indemnity in this case was made under the former government.
"I can't comment on the specific details, but suffice to say the new guidelines that will be in place will put a great deal of value on taxpayers' money."
Mr Newman and Mr Bleijie have both been contacted for comment.
Solicitor Chris Hannay confirmed to the ABC that the matter was now finalised, but declined to comment further, saying the settlement reached was private.
In a statement, the LNP's Shadow Attorney-General, Ian Walker, said legal indemnity had been a feature of Queensland's governance system for some time.
"It is important that our public officials are free to speak, make decisions and give advice without fear of being silenced by a defamation writ," the statement said.
"We hope the Premier's review is not about political point-scoring.
"The LNP will consider any changes fairly and ensure the fundamental principles of the policy are not compromised."
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, courts-and-trials, government-and-politics, political-parties, liberal-national-party-queensland, alp, brisbane-4000, qld
