Former Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry took legal action against former councillor Chris Milne. Photo / Mark Tantrum
A legal battle over “deeply personal and disturbing” Facebook posts between the former Lower Hutt mayor and a disgraced ex-councillor has ended.
Chris Milne has apologised in a social media post for some of the harm suffered by former Mayor Campbell Barry’s wife, Laura.
“I unreservedly apologise to Laura Barry for the harm caused by posts on the Hutt City Council - The Truth Exposed Facebook page," Milne said in the post.
“As the editor and moderator of this page, I should not have allowed posts to be published which caused harm to Laura and should have taken steps to remove those which did.”
Milne left the Hutt City Council under a cloud of controversy in 2022 after being found to have breached the council’s code of conduct and has since become embroiled in a Facebook page that the Barrys have called distasteful and disturbing.
Earlier this year, the Hutt Valley District Court lifted heavy suppressions, allowing it to be reported that Barry and his wife had taken Milne to court over posts on social media that they said contained false information, personal attacks and private business.
The now-deactivated Facebook page was alleged to have been used to make these posts, often anonymously, and create a “pile-on” effect with group members.
In affidavits, the Barrys said they felt unsafe in their home after a photo of it was posted on the page, taken from a location they believe was on their property.
“It started as a page which posted regularly about a range of people and politics at the Hutt City Council,” the then-mayor wrote in his affidavit.
“The posts were often distasteful, and misinformed readers ... while many posts contained highly objectionable material, they were largely ignored by myself and others because they were what could generally be termed as ‘political discourse’ in the most part.”
But in 2024, the content of the posts “started to become deeply personal and disturbing”, Barry said.
“They began to include false allegations and threats, which have had a serious emotional impact on my wife ... and myself. They began to include commentary about our home, animals and family.”
Laura Barry also referred in an affidavit to the impact the posts were having on her work as a solicitor and noted that she had been called a “corrupt lawyer in the child court” on the page.
Campbell Barry, a two-term mayor, announced in April that he would not be standing again in the recent local body elections.
Today, the Barrys posted a joint statement on Facebook explaining that the legal action had now ended with a court order.
“Between January and November 2024, our family went through a difficult period of sustained online abuse from an anonymous Facebook page,” the statement said.
“In April 2024, we took steps under the Harmful Digital Communications Act to put a stop to the harm being caused. The District Court found the law had been breached, confirmed the harm, and ordered that the person behind the page be identified.
“We understand that public roles come with scrutiny, criticism and, unfortunately, a level of abuse that has become a reality of public life. But attacks on family and private lives should never be part of that.”
The court orders and an apology from Milne “now brings this matter to an end”.
“The orders are what we sought from the outset. They make clear this was never about limiting political commentary, but about stopping harmful online behaviour that targeted our private lives,” they said.
“We are grateful this process has brought that behaviour to an end. While our decision to take action was to stop the harm, it also shows others that accountability is possible.
“We also hope this case serves as a reminder of the importance of treating others with fairness and respect — both online and offline."
Barry shared a screenshot of part of the court order, which stated the defendant was to refrain from publishing anything that breached the Harmful Digital Communications Act in relation to the Barrys’ personal affairs, including their home and living arrangements and their family and personal circumstances.
The court orders follow a recent High Court decision in which a judge ruled in favour of the Barrys in a messy property dispute with a relative.
The court’s decision detailed the “irretrievably broken down” family relationship between the Barrys and Laura’s mother, Debra Harris, finding that an order was necessary to ultimately remove Harris from the property she owned jointly with them.
Harris was linked to Milne during the case, but told the court she had never met or spoken to him.
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.