Millionaire wife in Jutland Parade defamation trial breaks down on witness stand, admits upsetting neighbours

The owner of a multimillion-dollar riverside lot on Perth’s millionaires’ row has broken down in tears in court describing how a bitter public spat over earthworks had left her “embarrassed”. Meredith and Paul McGarry are suing former City of Nedlands councillor Andrew Mangano for defamation after he repeatedly accused them of turning the front verge of their Jutland Parade property into a tripping hazard. He told council in notices of motion that the 1959sqm Dalkeith lot running down to the Swan River, which the McGarrys had bought for $12.4 million, had been illegally elevated by tonnes of soil, and also wrote to neighbours and journalists about it. The couple’s “excitement” about returning to Perth from Hong Kong to build their “forever home” soon faded with Mr Mangano “going after them”, Mr McGarry’s brother Glen McGarry testified on Tuesday. Mrs McGarry, a mother of two, also took to the witness stand and wept as she explained her distress upon hearing the allegations. “Instantly, I was quite upset . . . I’ve never done anything illegal before,” she said, reaching for a tissue. “I was hoping nothing would be reported in the papers.” But it was. Mrs McGarry said she was hounded about the furore — from her Eagle Bay holiday home to ski trips in Japan, people kept asking about it. She was left feeling “not great because I’m an incredibly honest person”. “It made me not want to live there,” Ms McGarry said. “The only thing you can now find if you Google me are these articles. It’s going to follow me around forever. “I wasn’t expecting to come home to this . . . I’m a good person and I don’t understand why it happened.” She said didn’t want money from Mr Mangano, just her and her husband’s name cleared and an apology. But under questioning by defence counsel Sue Chrysanthou — one of the country’s most high-profile lawyers — Mrs McGarry conceded he wasn’t the only person complaining. She admitted neighbours, including Tonya McCusker, the wife of former WA governor Malcolm McCusker, had expressed particular concerns about the large amount of soil brought to the property. Some of it had “tipped over” into the environmentally protected riverfront area, Mrs McGarry conceded, and the McCuskers’ boundary wall had been damaged. There was accompanying dust and noise, and a sewerage pipe had been “nicked”, which was “embarrassing”. The court was also shown a photograph of a broken footpath. Mrs McGarry said her husband had arranged to meet Mrs McCusker to discuss the complaints but felt “ambushed” because other neighbours were there. They included Arif Valibhoy, the son of wealthy Singapore-Australian businessman Abdul Rahim Valibhoy. Mrs McGarry said she didn’t know who raised the concerns first, the defendant or the neighbours. “I believe that he inflamed the situation,” she said. Mr McGarry then briefly testified recalling how he met Mrs McCusker while she was mowing her lawn, describing her as a “lovely lady”. “She said ‘you’ll have to come around. We’ll welcome you to the neighbourhood and celebrate the purchase,” he said. “I mow my own lawn, too.” Mr McGarry, the head of Asia for property giant Goodman, will continue giving evidence on Wednesday.