Outspoken Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price pushed ahead with a media release that defamed an Aboriginal land council boss without checking the details were true, a court has heard.

Senator Nampijinpa Price is fighting a claim by Central Land Council chief executive Lesley Turner that she defamed him in the July 2024 press release.

Turner said the release falsely reported a no-confidence motion had been moved against him by council delegates.

A hearing of the case began today in the Federal Court in Darwin before Justice Michael Wheelahan.

The Northern Territory senator's release implied Turner had "behaved so unprofessionally that it warranted his dismissal" and was "unfit to continue to occupy the role of CEO", according to Turner's claim.

High-profile defamation lawyer Sue C

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