Lawyer who won Bruce Lehrmann defamation battle defends millionaire’s Jutland Parade case against councillor

Australia’s top defamation silk, the wife of WA’s former Governor and a strip of dirt on Perth’s most exclusive street are at the centre of a bitter defamation battle over a local councillor’s “vendetta” against a millionaire couple. Expat property developer Paul McGarry and his wife Meredith are suing former City of Nedlands councillor Andrew Mangano in the Supreme Court, after he complained widely in 2022 that the front verge of their Jutland Parade property was too high. Mr Mangano has engaged Sydney silk Sue Chrysanthou, one of the country’s most high-profile lawyers, who most recently defeated Bruce Lehrmann in his unsuccessful defamation case against Lisa Wilkinson. Ms Chrysanthou’s other famous former clients include News Corp chairman Lachlan Murdoch, actor Geoffrey Rush, boxer Harry Garside and former commando Heston Russell. In his opening address on Monday, the McGarry’s lawyer Robert Anderson said witnesses in the case would include their Dalkeith neighbours, Tonya McCusker and wealthy Singapore-Australian businessman Abdul Rahim Valibhoy. But Mr Mangano, who attended court, had refused to testify, Mr Anderson said. That was despite him having “spoken so loudly and so often from a position of authority” against his clients in “some sort of hate campaign”, he said. The campaign had been “relentless”, with Mr Mangano harbouring “deep animus” towards Mr McGarry, who is head of Asia for property giant Goodman. It stemmed from Mr McGarry’s involvement in a proposal to build a seven-storey apartment complex on Broadway, Nedlands — near Mr Mangano’s Minora Road home. Fiercely opposed, he rejoiced when the plan was ultimately rejected by a Development Assessment Panel, Mr Anderson said. The Hong Kong-based couple planned to return to Perth and build a family home on the lot when they bought it for $12.4 million in early 2022. But as it lay undeveloped, Mr Mangano was “coordinating a community response” against them by writing to neighbours about the height of the verge being a tripping hazard and also backgrounded journalists, Mr Anderson said. He complained when the council’s director of planning, Tony Free, insisted the McGarry’s were acting lawfully and did not need to take any remedial action. “I am still not happy with this,” Mr Mangano wrote in an email to Mr Free, shown in court. “Everyone knows which LGs (local governments) are soft on developers.” Mr Anderson said the former councillor also ignored the advice of Mrs McCusker, who urged him to “hold off” on a notice of motion to council, saying any complaint needed to be firmly grounded in a correct interpretation of planning laws. “We must get the facts right and all the evidence collated,” Mrs McCusker wrote. Mr Anderson said Mr Mangano “acted with malice” and “an absence of honest intent”, writing to local residents after the council refused to support his motion, urging them to join Citizens for Building Reform. “This is a vendetta by now,” the lawyer said. Mr Mangano then vowed to keep bringing the matter back to council and lodge a formal complaint against Mr Free, he said. “It’s entirely indicative of Mr Mangano’s vindictive nature,” Mr Anderson said. Anaesthetist David Kingsbury, a friend of Mr McGarry, said the accusations had upset him. “He felt he was being unfairly targeted as a developer,” Dr Kingsbury testified. “Paul was also upset about the effect this was having on Meredith. Her name was getting dragged through it.” The western suburbs property was planned to be their “forever home” but she worried the controversy had irreparably damaged their relationship with neighbours and considered selling the block, Dr Kingsbury said. The trial continues.