THE former Queensland premier and deputy premier have both dropped defamation claims against radio presenter Alan Jones.
The suit against Jones and Brisbane radio station 4BC was lodged by Campbell Newman and Jeff Seeney during the January state election campaign.
The suits concerned on-air comments made by Mr Jones about the approval of the New Hope coal mine at Acland on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland.
Jones had accused Mr Newman of lying to him about plans for the expansion of the coal mine at Acland.
Mr Newman and Mr Seeney had each claimed to have been “greatly injured in his credit and reputation” by Jones’s broadcasts, made on the mornings of January 19, 20, and 21.
Damages had also been sought over Jones’s remarks on January 19 that Mr Newman had “prostituted himself” because of a $700,000 “bribe” to the Liberal National Party from the mine’s owners.
Jones also said Mr Newman lied in a press release issued in February 2012 in which the then-opposition leader said the LNP would not approve the expansion if elected.
Lawyers acting for Mr Newman and Mr Seeney filed a notice of discontinuation in the Supreme Court registry this week.
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