Qld family defamed by Nine in flood report

A wealthy Queensland family awarded a record Australian defamation payout from Alan Jones and his employers for incorrect flood death accusations was also defamed by the Nine Network.

Toowoomba's Wagner brothers sued over a 60 Minutes report from May 2015, with a jury on Friday determining it incorrectly insinuated they were responsible for the 2011 flood in Grantham which killed 12 people.

The four-person Brisbane Supreme Court jury also found prominent journalist Nick Cater defamed the Wagners in comments he made in the report.

The court has now begun to determine damages, with a plaintiff Denis Wagner giving evidence before Justice Peter Applegarth.

Denis, John, Neill and Joe Wagner say the report by Sydney journalist Michael Usher insinuated the collapse of a wall of a Lockyer Valley quarry they owned caused a "man-made catastrophe", in which a two-year-old girl died.

Read more: https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/6371040/qld-family-defamed-by-nine-in-flood-report/

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