In a statement of claim lodged with the Federal Court on Wednesday, the company alleges that Mr Baldwin's backflip was motivated by the 2GB broadcaster's fierce campaign against the former army-owned site in Prime Minister Tony Abbott's electorate of Warringah being redeveloped into an 89-bed aged care home and dementia day care facility. . "The decision was catalysed and driven by Mr Jones, was in response to his vehement public criticism of the lease approvals and the various executive decision-makers involved and was taken at Mr Jones' behest," Middle Head Healthcare told the court. The statement of claim also sets out how Jones told his listeners as early February 6 that he had held discussions with Mr Hunt and Mr Baldwin and the matter was "in excellent hands". He told his audience he was confident "common sense would prevail". That was five days before Middle Head Healthcare received a first letter from Mr Baldwin warning the company that he was considering revoking lease approval first granted in mid-2013. The company had completed three separate environmental impact statements and only needed a bushfire risk certificate which was later granted.

According to the court documents, at 4.25pm on February 24 the company lodged a submission with Mr Baldwin's office setting out why the approval should stand. The site of the rejected Middle Head development in Sydney. But before 9am the next morning, Jones promised a caller to his breakfast show that he would have some "good news" about Middle Head but would wait for the appropriate time to reveal it. Middle Head Healthcare claims Mr Baldwin's decision to revoke approval on May 1 was an improper use of power because it was "an exercise of a personal discretionary power at the discretion or behest of another person, namely Mr Jones". A spokesman for Mr Baldwin said he stood by the reasons he gave when announcing approval had been withdrawn. They included public access to the site, owned by the Sydney Harbour Federal Trust, and the need to "protect, conserve and interpret the environmental and heritage values of trust land".

Jones did not return calls. The approval has been revoked and I did have some role in this. Yes, I did. Do I apologise for it? No I don't The local Headland Preservation Group had battled the aged care proposal since Middle Head Healthcare was given its initial lease in 2013 but it was not until Jones joined the fray in November that there were any signs the government would consider backing down. Mr Abbott had written to angry constituents backing the home and the need for more aged care beds on Sydney's north shore but Jones claimed the approval had been "made virtually behind [Mr Abbott's] back by people he thought he could trust". In fiery interviews, Jones told Mr Hunt and former parliamentary secretary Simon Birmingham that they had exposed Mr Abbott to ridicule and the Prime Minister could even lose his seat over the decision.

Mr Hunt agreed to accompany the broadcaster and members of the preservation group on a tour of the site on Christmas Eve. On May 8, Jones took some credit for the result. "The approval has been revoked and I did have some role in this. Yes, I did. Do I apologise for it? No I don't. Did I speak to people? My word I did," Jones said, according to Middle Head Healthcare's statement of claim. An initial directions hearing took place on Thursday and the case, to be heard by Justice John Griffiths, is likely to go ahead in September when Jones and government officials are expected to be called. The company, which had agreed to pay the Trust $1.2 million rent a year, said it had suffered "substantial loss"; including money spent engaging architects and consultants and lost income during the process. The trust is the second defendant in the matter.