Former Shellharbour City Council deputy mayor Michele Greig was distraught and unable to speak to anyone after a TV news broadcast suggested she was being investigated for corruption, the Supreme Court heard yesterday."The word just ate into me, that word corruption," Mrs Greig said."I felt sick, I couldn't talk to anybody. It was the most traumatic word I could ever imagine being called."
Michele Greig defamation case continues Mrs Greig became emotional in the witness box as she told the court how the story had affected her reputation and led to fewer invitations to speak at functions.She is suing WIN TV for defamation after it broadcast the story on its Wollongong evening news on March 28, 2007. A transcript was also published on the network's website.The story stated that Mrs Greig had been referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption over a meeting she had had with a private communications company representative and her acceptance of Blackberry devices while she was overseeing a plan to upgrade councillors' technology.A planned vote on the technology upgrade was removed from the council's business papers when the meeting was "discovered" by council general manager Brian Weir, the story said."As the matter didn't go to council, ICAC did not deliver a finding, however suggested the issue instead be referred back before council's code of conduct committee", the story continued.Mrs Greig was in Italy with her husband when a family member phoned and told them: "The news rubbished Mum.""... I was absolutely distraught to think that people were thinking that I could do something dishonest, because that's not how I've been brought up," Mrs Greig said.She told the court she believed the code of conduct committee, which was chaired by former justice Marcus Einfeld, had cleared her of any wrongdoing and the story was "scandalous" and "defamatory".She had phoned Mr Weir and asked him to make a comment to the network supporting her innocence, which he did not do, she said. Mr Weir will also be called to give evidence.Mrs Greig's solicitor Michael Gamble wrote to WIN TV on three occasions requesting an apology and correction, the court heard.None was received and the story had not been removed from WIN's website.Lawyers for WIN TV will focus their defence on proving that Mrs Greig's conduct in relation to Telstra and the council technology upgrade warranted a code of conduct investigation.During cross-examination yesterday, Mrs Greig admitted that her family business had accepted from Telstra three Blackberry devices and a Minimax modem, which was installed into her personal computer, as part of a 30-day trial.She told the court the devices and usage costs were part of a business transaction between one of her companies and Telstra and were not a gift.The court heard soon after receiving the items, Mrs Greig recommended to council that Blackberries be used by all councillors.Mrs Greig denied her recommendation had anything to do with receiving Blackberries from Telstra. Defence lawyer, Terry Tobin, QC, said that since the story was broadcast, Mrs Greig had been re-elected deputy mayor, elected chair of the NSW Small Business Corporation and appointed to the Illawarra Redevelopment Board.The hearing continues.
