FORMER political candidate and Lake Bolac grandmother Tess Corbett could be facing contempt of court charges for refusing to apologise for discriminatory comments she made about homosexuals.
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Ms Corbett was taken to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) by Sydney anti-discrimination campaigner Garry Burns for comments she made in 2013 while running as the Wannon candidate for Katter’s Australian Party that equated homosexuality with paedophilia.
The tribunal found Ms Corbett guilty of vilifying homosexuals on three occasions and ordered her to publish an apology in the Sydney Morning Herald and write a personal letter of apology to Mr Burns.
She chose not to attend that hearing and later appealed, but her appeal was dismissed and the order to apologise reinstated.
But more than 15 months later Ms Corbett has not done so and Mr Burns has taken the matter to the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
Earlier this week, Mr Burns lodged the NCAT judgment with the Supreme Court, further enforcing the judgment and potentially paving the way for Ms Corbett to be found in contempt of court if she continues to disobey the apology order.
“I’m not going to let this rest,” Mr Burns told The Standard.
“She’s broken the law and it’s clear to me that she actually agrees that homosexuals are the same as paedophiles, otherwise she would have complied with the orders.
“I’m not trying to be unreasonable. But she has compared my sexuality and me to a criminal. She is guilty ... and if she doesn’t comply I will pursue any other legal avenues at my disposal.
“I won’t be going away and I won’t be giving up — I’m going to pursue this ’til my last breath.”
Ms Corbett’s barrister Marcel White said he hadn’t spoken with her for about two months but added that he would “have a discussion with her”.