New twist in council election court case
Adelaide City councillor Jing Li will be cross-examined by former councillor Alexander Hyde’s legal team next week regarding WeChat messages and emails they say are relevant to their case to have a 2022 election result overturned.
District Court Judge Michael Burnett on Monday ordered Li to be cross-examined next Tuesday regarding WeChat messages and email correspondence from 2022.
A total 163 pages of WeChat messages have been produced and translated from Mandarin since Hyde’s team asked for them in April.
Today, Hyde’s legal team said the messages were missing attachments referred to in the messages.
Barrister Helen Luu, representing Li, said they had no issue producing the attachments.
Hyde’s legal team first brought the emails and message correspondence to the courts attention in April, arguing Li did not adequately “make discovery” – meaning to disclose the communications as evidence before the trial.
They argue the communications show Li facilitated the voting of about 593 non-citizen residents in the 2022 council election.
Luu said previously the emails and messages do not reveal any illegal practices and were presented informally to Hyde’s legal team.
Today, Judge Burnett ordered the attachments be produced, an affidavit from Li be provided and the cross-examination of Li next week.
Legal Counsel for the Electoral Commissioner said their position on the issue of Li making the communications discoverable to the court was neutral but that Hyde’s team were embarking on a “time-consuming exercise”.
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Hyde originally petitioned the court in December 2022 to declare the Central Ward election void, alleging “illegal practices” and “voter harvesting” contributed to his narrow loss to newly elected councillor Jing Li.
The Court of Disputed Returns heard closing arguments for the case in February and had adjourned for a verdict, before Hyde’s team asked the court to reopen the case to allow the emails and WeChat messages to be received as evidence.
All parties have agreed the timeframe should be swift given the election result Hyde was disputing came over a year ago.
Li’s cross-examination will be heard on Tuesday, May 14.
