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John Barilaro’s assault charge for a fight with a television cameraman is dismissed for mental health reasons
- The former deputy premier of New South Wales got into a fight with a cameraman last year
- The charge was dismissed on mental health grounds Friday.
A magistrate has thrown out a charge of assault against former NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro on mental health grounds.
Barilaro has pleaded not guilty to allegedly assaulting a camera operator and damaging his property outside a Manly restaurant in July 2022.
He was leaving a dinner with friends when he saw cameras waiting outside, telling the media he did not wish to be interviewed, the court was told.
John Barilaro in front of Sydney’s Downing Center court on Friday after his charge was dismissed
Images surfaced last year showing John Barilaro in a heated moment with a Channel Seven cameraman.
The matter was due to be heard in September, however Barilaro’s lawyer, Danny Eid, applied on Friday to Sydney’s Downing Town Center Local Court to hear his charges on mental health grounds.
Justice Susan Horan granted the request after “compelling” evidence was presented to the court, including reports from the doctors who treated Barilaro.
Barilaro was ordered to continue to see his doctors routinely for the next three months and at reasonable intervals at his direction after that, under the one-year order.
Horan said there was no evidence before the court to show that Barilaro posed an ongoing threat to his alleged victim or the general public.
Clinical reports described Barilaro as suffering from recurrent depression, anxiety, and complex PTSD, and his behavior may have been an “aberration” brought on by constant media attention.
“Having seen the footage… the factual seriousness is relatively less,” Ms. Horan said.
The physical contact was brief and the use of force was also minor, Horan said, as was the damage to the camera.
Mr Eid said that Barilaro had a sustained mental health problem since 2019, and Ms Horan accepted that she had suffered significant stressors.
They include his political responsibilities, the death of his father, the libel action he had brought against multiple parties and the scrutiny he faced over his appointment to a foreign business post, which he resigned two weeks after being announced.
Outside court, Eid told reporters to have some limits.
Barilaro’s lawyer said he “has a good life ahead of him”
“I suggest that certain sections of the media start treating people with certain limits because things can turn ugly very quickly,” he said.
“It’s irrelevant who I’m directing this at, but I think you know who I’m talking about and one has to start caring about the real story, not the narrative to push for a sensational capture.”
“He has a good life ahead of him… I am sure that in good health he will continue to be a productive member of the community,” Mr. Eid said.
Barilaro remained silent behind his sunglasses and his lawyer before television cameras followed him out of court.