ABC’s expert commended Griffith’s book
The defendants’ expert primatologist, Professor Colin Groves, concluded two days of cross-examination this afternoon in biologist Jeremy Griffith and mountaineer Tim Macartney-Snape’s defamation action against the ABC.
Under questioning yesterday by counsel for the plaintiffs, Kieran Smark, Professor Groves acknowledged that in 1991 he wrote a supportive commendation for Mr Griffith’s second book, which began, “Beyond The Human Condition is a bold attempt to find an ethical meaning in biology and anthropology. The book’s use of the fossil evidence for human evolution is innovative and intriguing.”
The ANU-based academic agreed he had been invited by the FHA to comment on the book and had given his commendation “in good faith” after having considered Mr Griffith’s work.
Professor Groves then recounted his first meeting with the second defendant, Reverend David Millikan, prior to the defamatory Four Corners broadcast in 1995, during which the Uniting Church minister told him “that Mr Griffith was acting like a cult leader, splitting up families”.
“And indeed, when you provided your expert evidence in this case you did so in part by reason of your belief, which continues to this day, that Mr Griffith is leading an organisation that is in substance a cult?” Mr Smark asked.
“Yes” the Professor responded.
When cross-examination resumed this morning, Mr Smark pressed Professor Groves as to whether he had complied with the Supreme Court’s expert witness code of conduct in preparing his reports as to the scientific standard of Mr Griffith’s work.
“Do you consider that by the time you came to give your expert reports, you were holding strong adverse views about Mr Griffith and the Foundation for Humanity’s Adulthood as being a matter which might be viewed objectively as a basis of bias?” asked Mr Smark.
“I can see there might be that appearance,” Professor Groves responded.
On several occasions, Mr Smark suggested to Professor Groves that the inclusion of negative sentiment towards Mr Griffith in the conclusion of his report was an indication that the Professor’s reports were informed by a bias he held against the first plaintiff.
However, Professor Groves sought to deny that the antipathy he felt towards Mr Griffith meant his whole report was biased.
“I will admit freely that I was aware of this obviously when I wrote the report but I set it aside to the extent that I could,” he said.
“At the end I decided to make an admission, which some people, indeed Mr Smark, has interpreted as bias.”
Professor Groves agreed with Mr Smark that the overall thrust of the Four Corners program was to portray the FHA as a cult-like organisation rather than attempting to set out the views of Mr Griffith in a scientific way.
After cross-examination of Professor Groves concluded this afternoon, the plaintiffs tendered an audio-recording of talk-show host Brian Carlton interviewing Mr Griffith about the nature of his biological ideas in a Radio 2GB broadcast on Boxing Day in 1994.
The trial will continue on Monday morning in the Supreme Court.
