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A man has been charged for allegedly publishing the name of a prominent Queensland man, breaking a suppression order made in a closely watched matter.
The 35-year-old Bungalow man was arrested on Friday and taken into custody, where he was later charged with one count of disobedience to lawful order issued by statutory authority.
The high-profile man in question’s name is a part of an extortion matter being heard at the Cairns Magistrates Court. The married man does not face any charges himself, and has been referred to as MM in court since the suppression order was applied.
Media outlets, including this masthead, are fighting Acting Magistrate Gelma Meoli’s order.
The matter was mentioned at the court last week, where the police commissioner was represented by Jonathan Horton KC, who argued in favour of the non-publication order, while the media outlets were represented by Andrew O’Brien KC.
“What your honour is being asked to do is make orders to alleviate … embarrassment, distress, reputational harm, or some other collateral issue … but that is just not a basis upon which this court will grant relief,” O’Brien argued.
Meoli had ruled in favour of keeping man’s name suppressed, telling the court if the man’s name was made public the alleged threat made by the accused “been achieved by it being exposed publicly during a judicial process under the principle of open justice”.
A hearing for a judicial review of the decision has been set down for July 31.
With Cloe Read
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