Park lands protesters stare down half-million dollar court bill
‘Keep an eye out for a billionaire’: A cost offer of $150,000 is off the table for park lands protesters who took the North Adelaide Golf Course plans to court.
Park lands activists Edwin Kemp Attrill and Janette Milera face costs of up to $550,000 after losing their federal court bid over the North Adelaide Golf Course plans.
The state government confirmed it lodged a request for “party-to-party costs” with the Federal Court on Thursday after previously offering Kemp Attrill and Milera $150,000.
InDaily understands the $150,000 offer was time-sensitive and went unresolved before the government’s deadline to file with the court.
Kemp Attrill said today that the bill had more than doubled since the $150,000 offer was made earlier this week, claiming a title search of his house was filed with the court as a justification for the bill.
“They want to take my house; now I know how the possums feel,” Kemp Attrill said.
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Milera does not own a home.
On Friday morning, Kemp Attrill reopened his GoFundMe, which had previously raised about $70,000 for his legal fees. He said he was reopening the fundraiser as a “safety net for potential legal liabilities” and it would only be used “if necessary”.
He shared the GoFundMe link to Facebook, writing “keep an eye out for a billionaire who can help us”.
Kemp Attrill and Milera have until November 5 to file an official response to the court regarding the costs. The final costs will be determined by the court at a later date.
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Premier Peter Malinauskas said on Tuesday that the $150,000 offer represented “a balance between the competing interests, not trying to be punitive towards Mr Attrill but at the same time not setting a bad precedent that would be at the expense of taxpayers”.
“We don’t want to sort of act in a way that results in a punitive punishment on this, but at the same time, we’ve got an obligation to protect the interests of taxpayers, including from potential litigants in the future, who will seek to hurt the taxpayer in a way that they do so with impunity or with reckless abandon to the implications to the taxpayer,” Malinauskas said.
Kemp Attrill declined to comment on negotiations, but claimed the offer was made public before his legal team could respond.
Lawyers Ted Hui and Arturo Dal Cin, representing Kemp Attrill and Milera, worked pro bono.
It comes after Federal Court Judge Natalie Charlesworth dismissed claims earlier this month that a $45 million North Adelaide Golf course project violated national environment and heritage laws.
Kemp Attrill and Milera have until October 29 to appeal the legal decision. Kemp Attrill declined to comment on whether or not he would be filing an appeal.
The state government declined to comment further while the matter is before the court.
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