A gay Brisbane couple who won a case against their former neighbours for vilification are now asking the family to sell their house to pay legal costs.

Tim Wilson and Shane McCollum were awarded $23,000 by the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal in 2008 after the tribunal found the couple’s neighbours vilified them with the terms “faggot”, “princess”, “girls”, “ladies” and “poof”.

A report in today’s Australian indicates that the couple, still together but now living apart, are now seeking the $30,000 the tribunal awarded the couple to cover legal costs.

Requesting their former neighbours, Jean and Paul Lawson, sell their house to pay the costs, Wilson and McCollum told The Australian it was a matter of ‘justice’.
Wilson told The Australian, “We’re not being vindictive, we just want justice. This is the last resort. You can’t live in Australia and treat your neighbours like that.”

McCollum also told The Australian that the couple had lived in several Brisbane suburbs together, but they had never suffered the same kind of harassment.

The report says that at the height of the dispute, both households were regularly calling police to complain about their neighbour.

When the couple won the tribunal decision in 2008 and were awarded $23,000 in compensation, while the couple said they received much public support they also reported numerous abusive phone calls, forcing the couple to move house and take extended holidays outside of Brisbane.