After almost four-and-a-half years and almost $400,000 spent on my legal defence against two LGBTIQA+ drag queens who are suing me for vilification, an end to my nightmare is in sight.
Yesterday in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal, His Honour Nicholas Loos took control of the drift that has beset my case because of what I consider to be vexatious litigation and set down hearing dates for next year.
On February 3 a half day hearing in the QCAAT in Brisbane will be held to determine whether additional evidence from the drag queen side should be admitted as part of a future appeal hearing.
Leave to appeal (which will likely be granted) plus the appeal itself has been set down for March 17 and 18.
This should be the final time I am required to go to court in what has been an almost five-year ordeal.
His Honour will likely hand down a decision soon after.
Despite knowing about yesterday’s hearing for weeks, the drag queens’ law firm, the taxpayer-funded LGBTI Legal Service, turned up unprepared.
Their solicitor was on her own without having briefed counsel and was hoping for an adjournment which would have continued to kick the can down the road.
His Honour, thankfully, was having none of this and after an hour and fifteen minutes of legal argument stood down the hearing until 4pm, requiring the parties come back with available dates for next year.
Because the LGBTI Legal Service “threw away” yesterday’s hearing, the judge agreed with my lawyers that we should be allowed to make an argument for costs associated with our preparation.
This will occur at the end of the appeal hearing, most likely on March 17.
Appearing for me yesterday were Tony Morris KC and barrister Simon Fisher who were instructed by the excellent Human Rights Law Alliance.
I was mightily relieved as it has felt like I’ve been tied up in indefinite litigation.
The end is near.
By way of reminder, here’s the background as to how I came to be before tribunal in the Queensland law courts yesterday.
In 2020, two LGBTIQA+ drag queens, Johnny Valkyrie and Dwayne Hill, sued me because I said that they, reading to little children in a public library, were dangerous role models.
Their promotion of harmful gender fluid ideology (will someone please read the Cass Report) and LGBTIQA+ sexual expressionism makes them dangerous role models and I do not resile from what I have written in six blog posts which they are demanding I take down.
They are also demanding $20,000 and a public apology, neither of which I will give them.
They have also tried for hundreds of thousands of dollars in aggravated damages which was thankfully rejected.
Their 2020 complaint to the Queensland Human Rights Commission escalated to the point where I was put on trial in the QCAT in November 2022 for three days.
This was a harrowing experience in which I was cross-examined by a hostile Senior Counsel, well-known left-wing lawyer Greg Barns, for three hours for the “crime” of seeking to protect children from the influence of drag queens who promote gender fluidity and inappropriate sexual concepts.
In August 2023, QCAT Member Jeremy Gordon handed down a judgement vindicating me. He said I had not vilified Hill or Valkyrie under the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act of 1991.
Because QCAT is a no costs jurisdiction (apart from scenarios like yesterday when shoddy legal work wastes everybody’s time), I have not been able to recover any costs from the years of litigation.
The judgement last August should have been the end of the matter.
However, the drag queens appealed, again with the assistance of their taxpayer-funded law firm.
(As an aside, the new LNP government should immediately de-fund the LGBTI Legal Service, or at least make sure taxpayer funds are not used in vexatious litigation, and it should de-fang the flawed Anti-Discrimination Act so freedom of speech is restored).
It took 16 months since the drag queens first set in train their appeal process to get to yesterday’s hearing in the QCAAT.
And still their lawyers were unprepared.
Thankfully the judge took control and has given me some certainty going into the New
Year.
But the fact remains, no Australian should ever be dragged through the courts, let alone for five years, for expressing the reasonable opinion that LGBTIQA+ drag queens are dangerous role models for children.
I want to thank everyone who has prayed for me and ask that you continue to do so. It is vital that this appeal fails when it is heard next March.
Please also pray that politicians would garner the courage to stand up to LGBTIQA+ political activist bullies and change the law, so Australians are once again free to speak.
I also want to thank everyone who has donated. My lawyers at the Human Rights Law Alliance receive no taxpayer funding.
My defence has been entirely donor-funded by freedom-loving Australians.
If you can give a gift to my on-going legal costs, this will allow the HRLA to defend me in the February and March hearings, plus do the necessary preparation work.
Donations can be made at here.