The Rachel MacGregor Trust has welcomed yesterday’s decision from High Court Judge, Hon. Justice Hinton, regarding the
damages to be awarded to Rachel MacGregor as a result of the lengthy defamation proceedings initiated by her former
boss, Colin Craig.
The announcement – which will see MacGregor awarded damages of $400,000, and costs of approximately $41,000 – follows
Justice Hinton’s September 2019 ruling, which found that Craig (founder of the now-defunct Conservative Party) had
sexually harassed his former Press Secretary between 2012 and 2014, and subsequently defamed her.
Spokesperson and Trustee for The Rachel MacGregor Trust, Nicola Taylor, says that while the decision is a welcomed one,
the figure will not come close to addressing the emotional, mental, reputational and financial harm that has been
inflicted on MacGregor over the course of Craig’s extensive legal campaign.
“With this substantial award of damages, Judge Hinton has recognised the very real harm that has been caused by Colin
Craig by continuing to publicly lie about Rachel and her character at every opportunity. Of course, this is on top of
the harm Craig has already been found to have caused to Rachel, firstly through his sexual harassment of her and then
through his breach of their confidential settlement agreement in 2015.
“Craig’s relentless pursuit of Rachel through the courts has forced her to incur legal costs well in excess of $600,000.
Even with the generosity of Rachel’s lawyers, Dentons’ Linda Clark and Hayden Wilson, who have donated a huge amount of
their time to these cases, the $447,000 will not come close to covering those fees – and will leave Rachel with nothing
for the harm caused to her over the last decade.
“While the figure represents real vindication of Rachel, the fact is that no amount of money will ever restore the years
of life she has lost to this unwanted legal battle, nor the immense impact on her health and wellbeing, since she
resigned from her role at the Conservative Party in September 2014,” says Taylor.
MacGregor’s experience at the hands of her former boss also serves to shine a light on flaws within New Zealand’s legal
system, which allow those in positions of wealth, power and influence to play out their personal disputes in the courts,
at great personal cost to their targets.
“It is tragic that Rachel has had to engage in this process and go all the way to the Supreme Court to vindicate her
position. As a nation, we must do better – for Rachel and for the many other women around the country who have had to
endure the same process,” adds Taylor.
For more information about the case, or The Rachel MacGregor Trust, please visit www.justiceforher.org.