High profile witnesses in Indi MP Cathy McGowan and Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt could be called to give evidence in Sophie Mirabella's defamation case as early as Monday.
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Barrister Georgina Schott QC told Wangaratta County Court at the start of trial that the pair would likely appear on Monday, with Mr Wyatt due to arrive in Wangaratta Monday morning.
But the cross-examination of Mrs Mirabella had only just began when court adjourned on Friday and it was unclear how much longer she would be in the witness box.
The former Indi MP is suing the Benalla Ensign for defamation over an article it published in April 2016, incorrectly claiming she pushed Ms McGowan at a public event.
It was a cartoon produced by Dutch Media, for a Wodonga Race Club promotion six months after the alleged incident, which pushed Mrs Mirabella to finally decide to sue the Ensign.
The drawing shows a likeness of Ms McGowan sitting on a horse at the starting gates, with Mrs Mirabella trying to push the horse from behind.
"I did have a look at the clip and I was mortified ... I was quite distraught," she told the court.
"They (Dutch Media) had done my television ads during the campaign and I thought, what a whack."
On another occasion she was with her children when a man approached her and started swearing, abusing her for what he believed had been a push to Ms McGowan.
Mrs Mirabella said she was no "delicate wallflower" and had copped a lot of abuse over the years, but was brought to tears when describing her need to stand up for the "principle of the truth" so her children never had to question why she did not fight to clear her name.
Abuse on her character and physical appearance was also directed at her over Twitter following the Ensign story, which she sat up on many late nights reading to collect as evidence for the defamation trial.
"I would read all this stuff and it was just too painful. I hoped I would wake up and it would all go away," Mrs Mirabella said.
"I'm not an invisible person - I'm still a mother, I'm still a professional person."
The Ensign's barrister David Gilbertson will continue his cross-examination of Mrs Mirabella when the case resumes Monday morning.
RELATED:
- An earlier version of this story, briefly, referred to Nolan Media instead of Dutch Media. The Border Mail acknowledges Nolan Media had no role in the production of a cartoon for Wodonga Race Club.
