Colin Craig has represented himself in most of his court cases. Photo / Michael Craig
Colin Craig has represented himself in most of his court cases. Photo / Michael Craig
In the months after his unsuccessful bid for Parliament in 2014, then-Conservative Party leader Colin Craig's political career was on the verge of imploding due to allegations of sexual harassment by his former press secretary.
It was clear, Craig told a judge today, that party board member John Stringer was intent on making sure that implosion happened - using his extensive political and media contacts and his own blog for what Craig described as "a persistent campaign of lies".
"Going nuclear," Stringer allegedly wrote in a text message at the time, which Craig cited during his opening statement in his latest legal stoush with Stringer. "Time to carpet bomb the Colin Craig cult compound, make sure this clown doesn't come back."
Both Stringer and the recipient of the text message, as well as various others, would later be sued by Craig for defamation. Many would counter-sue. The current judge-alone trial, before Justice Neil Campbell at the High Court at Auckland, is the latest in a series that have spanned the nearly seven years since Craig was ousted from the party he helped establish.
"A media firestorm followed. It engulfed myself," Craig told Justice Campbell of the aftermath of Stringer helping spread the sexual harassment allegations. "Having been forced out of the party, Mr Stringer said his mission was accomplished."
Former Conservative Party board member John Stringer previously took Colin Craig to court for defamation. Now it is Craig seeking damages against him. Photo / File
Much of Craig's opening statement today covered ground that has been traversed at previous trials - including his insistence that he never sexually harassed employee Rachel MacGregor. Two prior High Court judges, however, have ruled otherwise.
MacGregor resigned from the party in September 2014, two days before the general election. Shortly thereafter, she confided sexual harassment allegations against Craig to Taxpayers' Union founder Jordan Williams, who later shared some of the statements with Stringer.
Craig said Stringer then took the allegations and embellished them as he spoke with media, sent an email to fellow board members and tipped off Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater.
"Obviously, the crux of the trial is going to be the nature of the personal and professional relationship between me and Ms MacGregor and whether she was sexually harassed," Craig said today.
He pointed to a section of her LinkedIn profile in which she listed herself as a "storyteller", suggesting she "retroactively used her skills as a storyteller" to recast the narrative of what he characterised as a consensual "emotional affair" and "mutually affectionate" friendship between the two.
Former Conservative Party press secretary Rachel MacGregor has testified at three other hearings. This time, the judge is expected to rely on previous testimony. Photo / Brett Phibbs
MacGregor, however, will not be called to testify at the current trial. Both sides have agreed to rely on her testimony at three prior court proceedings.
Justice Kit Toogood, who oversaw Craig's successful defamation case against Slater in 2015, ruled that Craig had engaged in "moderately serious" sexual harassment of MacGregor "on multiple occasions from early 2012 to 2014".
Following a 2018 trial in which Craig and MacGregor each sued the other for defamation, Justice Anne Hinton also found that sexual harassment had occurred. In addition, she ruled that the pair had defamed each other. Last November, MacGregor was awarded $400,000 in damages.
This week isn't the first time Craig and Stringer have faced off in court.
Stringer had previously sought more than $3.5 million in declarations, damages, aggravating damages and seemingly punitive damages against Craig and others. Justice Matthew Palmer in April 2020 ruled against all of Stringer's claims, describing the suit as "misconceived".
Palmer had also initially dismissed Craig's efforts to countersue, although that decision was later overturned on appeal.
"Enough is enough," the judge said at the time.
Both Stringer and Craig are representing themselves at the current trial. Stringer has not yet given an opening statement or had an opportunity to call witnesses.
