Former premier Daniel Andrews claims he is being pursued for defamation by a road crash victim and his “cohort” for media attention and to advance political agendas.
Andrews and his wife, Catherine, are defending Federal Court action launched by Ryan Meuleman, known as “bike boy”, who was 15 when he was struck by the Andrews family’s 4WD drive on a trip to the beach in January 2013.
Meuleman is seeking damages from the pair, claiming a public statement they made implied he lied about the circumstances of the collision, and that he was using legal proceedings for financial gain.
But in a defence released by the court on Friday, the pair argue they have only ever sought to protect themselves from public attacks that painted them as liars and party to a cover-up.
Their lawyer, Leon Zwier, argues that Meuleman’s defamation proceedings were launched for “collateral” purposes, to court public and media attention and “inflict reputational damage”.
The defence papers further allege the motivation for the case is “to advance the personal or political agendas” of Meuleman’s supporters, or to seek evidence against the couple for use in a private criminal prosecution.
Meuleman suffered serious injuries when his bike collided with the couple’s car in Blairgowrie more than a decade ago while it was being driven by Catherine Andrews. Daniel Andrews, opposition leader at the time, was in the passenger seat.
Police cleared the pair of any wrongdoing. The two police officers who attended the scene did not breathalyse anyone, in breach of standard operating procedures, and were counselled as a result.
In September 2024, the Herald Sun published details of a report by a former police officer, Dr Raymond Shuey, in his capacity as an expert witness.
Shuey, who died before his report was published publicly, alleged that authorities engaged in an “overt cover-up to avoid implicating a political figure in a life-threatening crash”.
The couple issued a joint media statement in response to that reporting, declaring they did nothing wrong.
“We completely reject conspiracy theories dressed up as journalism,” their 2024 statement said.
“This so-called report was commissioned by lawyers on behalf of their clients who are seeking money through the courts by suing their former lawyers. We are not a party to this legal action.
“This matter has already been comprehensively and independently investigated and closed by Victoria Police and integrity agencies. We will not dignify these appalling conspiracy theories by commenting further at this time.”
Meuleman alleged this statement was defamatory, a claim the former premier and his wife reject.
They argue their statement did not harm Meuleman’s reputation because it has long been known there is an “intractable” factual dispute between the parties about who was at fault for the collision, and it was a proportionate response to the attacks upon them.
The defence claims Meuleman initially sought $550,000 in damages but then revised that to $50,000 and $7000 in costs.
The court documents argue the couple have endured a campaign from Meuleman or his supporters since at least 2022.
These supporters, the defence argue, “have no personal interest in the proceedings and whom, it may therefore be inferred, have personal or political agendas or motives for involving themselves in Mr Meuleman’s affairs”.
It names the Meuleman “cohort” as including, “from time to time”, his father Peter, PR veteran Rohan Wenn, design engineer-turned-amateur-detective Colin Robertson and retired members of Victoria Police Kel Glare and Shuey.
The case is due back in court next month.
Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter.
Rachel Eddie is a Victorian state political reporter for The Age. Contact her at rachel.eddie@theage.com.au, rachel.eddie@protonmail.com, or via Signal at @RachelEddie.99Connect via X or email.
