The allegations include that Milne made an “implied death threat” against Barry.
A court battle between Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry and a disgraced former councillor over “deeply personal and disturbing” Facebook posts can now be revealed.
Barry announced last week he wouldnot be standing for re-election this year, but has said in a statement the “abuse” suffered online did not impact this decision.
The matter has now come to light after Judge Kevin Kelly lifted heavy suppression orders on the case in the Hutt Valley District Court this afternoon.
Barry and his wife, Laura started legal proceedings in early 2024 under the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 in response to posts on social media they allege contained false information, personal attacks and private business.
The case originally named Meta, which owns Facebook, as the respondent, but now includes Milne, who was revealed to be the anonymous administrator of the social media page in question.
Campbell Barry said a complaint was laid with MPI about his animals, then information about the complaint was posted to the Facebook page.
Hutt City Council the Truth Exposed, a now-deactivated Facebook page, is 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 own home after a photo of their Lower Hutt home 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 mayor wrote in his affidavit.
“The posts were often distasteful, and misinformed readers ... while many posts contained highly objectional 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.”
Barry went on to describe a campaign of harassment linked to the page, including an anonymous complaint laid about him to the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) claiming the animals on his lifestyle block were being mistreated. An inspection found this was untrue, he said.
Despite this, information relating to the complaint was shared on the Facebook page, along with photos of Barry’s alpacas.
Chris Milne left the council in 2022 after it was found he breached the code of conduct twice.
He also said some of the posts on the page created a “pile-on” where other users would post malicious content in the comments section.
One such comment was posted by Milne himself, saying Barry should be “worried” and that “Mossad always gets its man”.
“The word ‘Mossad’ is a reference to the Israeli intelligence agency known for covert operations said to include political assassination,” Barry said.
The comment was later removed after police visited Milne and gave him a warning, he said.
The posts on the page also include references to personal family matters going through a different court, he noted.
“These relentless attacks have had a cumulative effect on us both. The exposure of our personal home and lives has become too hard to bear. We have begun to feel unsafe in our own home.
“We genuinely fear this anonymous person(s) is snooping around our property and personal lives in an attempt to manufacture content for [the page].”
Barry said he and his wife had both had to see psychologists for support, and were left with anxiety, wondering what false allegation or personal attack was coming next.
Laura Barry also referred to the impact the posts were having on her work as a solicitor and noted she had been called a “corrupt lawyer in the child court” on the page.
The court ordered Meta to reveal who the administrator for the page was, and it was revealed that Milne had been operating it.
The Barrys now seek an agreement from Milne to stop making such posts and to pay their legal fees, which he has not agreed to.
In the Hutt Valley District Court today, the Barrys’ lawyer, Gerard Dewar, said his understanding was that Milne wanted to come to court and prove the posts did not fall under the umbrella of harmful communications.
There have previously been suppression orders in place banning not only the reporting of the parties’ names, but also the existence of the court case.
But Dewar today asked Judge Kelly to lift the suppression, saying as there was no longer suppression in place for the unrelated family matter, there was no need for it in this case.
A letter in Milne’s affidavit responding to the Barrys’ case cannot be reported due to a question over confidentiality. Milne was unable to be reached for comment at the time of publication.
The matter will go to a hearing later this year for a full argument.
In a joint statement provided to the Herald, the Barrys said they understood public office came with scrutiny, criticism, and even abuse.
“But there is a line — and that line is crossed when attacks target families, intrude on private lives, and deliberately seek to cause harm beyond the political arena.
“This experience has had a deep and lasting impact, particularly on Laura. The abuse has sought to exploit her sensitive and complex personal family circumstances to cause distress and damage to us both. That kind of intrusion is cruel, and it is unacceptable.“
The couple said they had chosen to deal with the matter privately, but recent news articles about abuse directed at elected officials and their families encouraged them to let the public know what they had experienced.
“We want people to know that there are legal avenues available. You can hold people who try to hide under the cloak of anonymity to account.
“We believe it’s important to take a stand — not just to protect ourselves, but for the sake of everyone who chooses to put themselves forward for public office and their families.
“We are now seeking further orders from the court to ensure this person stops what they have been doing to us.”
Free Speech Union chief executive Jonathan Ayling said Milne — who is a member of the union — had been using the page to expose concerns over Barry’s credibility.
“When a mayor can use our law to hide from exposure, we’re in big trouble. Public scrutiny is key to democracy. Speech allows us to hold leaders to account. Lawyers gagging critics is the opposite of this,” he said in a statement.
“Barry claims this has caused “serious emotional distress” to him and his wife. But the Facebook posts are legitimate critiques directly related to Barry’s conduct as mayor, his character, and whether he is fit for office. It’s outrageous that a mayor would silence ratepayers’ voices, and even more so that New Zealand law is vague enough to allow it.”
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.
