An ex-media advisor to the McGowan Government launches a defamation case against the WA Premier, the Treasurer Ben Wyatt and seven other staff members — including the woman who accused him of indecent assault, for which he was found not guilty.

An ex-media advisor to the McGowan Government has launched a defamation case against the Premier, the Treasurer Ben Wyatt and seven other staff members.
Stephen Kaless, Mr Wyatt’s former senior media adviser, resigned after he was accused of indecently assaulting a female colleague at a drunken Christmas function in 2019.
In August, Mr Kaless was found not guilty of putting his hand up the woman’s dress and underwear and touching her bare bottom.
Mr Kaless filed the writ in WA’s Supreme Court yesterday accusing the group including the female colleague who made the complaint of “conspiring” against him.
The writ alleges Premier Mark McGowan of making a “grossly and falsely defamatory” media statement about him in December last year.
He argues the statements caused him “loss and damage”, including “income-earning capacity”.
Mr Kaless alleges Mr Wyatt and the seven other staff members of “conspiring and wrongfully combining together with the sole or predominant intention of “injuring” him, resulting in “loss and damage”.
Mr Kaless had been Mr Wyatt’s key media adviser since Labor’s 2017 election victory.
Prior to that he worked for four years as the chief of staff of the Channel 7 Perth newsroom, according to his LinkedIn profile.
A spokesman for the WA Premier’s office said they were aware of the action, but as the matter was before the courts, it was not appropriate to provide any comment.