“It could have killed someone. That was my major concern – the security and integrity of that wall.”
Again, McCusker told the court the lot owner Paul McGarry was apologetic and attempted to quell her concerns, but what he was saying did not align with what she was watching unfold from the window of her home office.
As the semi-trailers continued to dump fill at the site and court cracks began forming in her boundary wall, Tonya escalated the matter with the city — sending an email signed by her neighbours, including media mogul Kerry Stokes and his wife Christine.
“It was clear at the end of the week that friendly discussions with Paul had resulted in apologies but no action,” Tonya told the court.
By the following week, the court was told the works had caused damage to the footpath and the sewage line had ruptured, sending raw sewage flowing into the McCuskers’ backyard.
Despite Cr Mangano’s desire to raise the matter in the public council meeting and their belief the saga warranted an apology from the McGarrys, the McCuskers were intent on dealing with the matter privately.
When quizzed about correspondence concerning their decision not to pursue the matter at council, McCusker told the court they were “very averse” to publicity.
“My husband has a high-profile job, and anything that affects us gets publicised,” she told the court.
“I was concerned about the headlines … ‘Ex-governor’s wife complains about fill’. It seems so trivial given everything else happening in the world.
“The public don’t get the whole picture, they just get the headline. It looks pretty pathetic.”
McCusker also rubbished Meredith McGarry’s sworn testimony, which had been republished by the media, in which she claimed her husband had been ambushed during a community meeting.
McCusker told the court such a characterisation of the meeting was “emotional hyperbole” that made it sound as though the neighbours were hiding behind the bushes with “bows and arrows”.
When grilled about the comments by the McGarrys’ lawyer Rob Anderson KC, McCusker clarified she was merely disappointed, before letting it be known how she really felt about the case.
“We have been dragged into this high-profile court case … there are people out there with real grievances in society that do not have the assets to get into this prestigious court — and I think those grievances are more important,” Tonya told the court.
“I felt if I had been responsible for raw sewage flowing into my neighbour’s property [I would have taken responsibility and been apologetic], and I am disappointed this has come to court. None of the neighbours wanted to be here.”
The McGarrys are suing Cr Mangano for damages over comments he made at council meetings in 2022 in which he claimed the pair had placed dirt on their verge unlawfully, creating a trip hazard and causing run-off issues.
Mangano is defending the action on the basis his comments were substantially true.
The prominent residents of “millionaires’ row” dragged into the spat include the McCuskers, Stokes, Singaporean businessman Abdul Rahim Valibhoy and vascular surgeon Dr Steve Baker.
The McGarrys, who are from Perth but have spent more than two decades living interstate and overseas, conducted the earthworks to prepare the site for a five-storey mansion.
The matter is due to return to court for a directions hearing on April 2.
