The Sydney activist’s listing for the hat he wore during his appearance on ABC’s Q&A program has been taken down, and he is now seeking $30,000 in damages

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

It was 2015’s most controversial piece of marijuana-themed headwear and graced a dozen front pages — now it could cost eBay thousands of dollars.

The Sydney activist Zaky Mallah is suing the online auction group for $30,000 for delisting the “weed hat” he wore during his appearance on ABC’s Q&A program, according to documents lodged with the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Ncat).

Mallah, who was tried and acquitted of terrorism charges in 2005, sparked a federal government frontbench boycott, an internal ABC review and a communications department investigation after being allowed to question the Liberal MP Steve Ciobo during an episode of the program in June.

How Zaky Mallah ended up on live TV: Q&A producers took a calculated risk Read more

When Ciobo suggested he would “be pleased to be part of a government” that would have stripped Mallah, 30, of his citizenship, Mallah said: “The Liberals now have justified to many Australian Muslims in the community to leave and go to Syria and join Isis because of ministers like him.”



The comment was taken to be an endorsement of Islamic State, against Mallah’s protests. The Q&A host, Tony Jones, also recently described this interpretation as a “big lie”.

Admitting the invitation was “an error of judgment”, the producers at ABC said they had vetted Mallah but missed his tweets threatening sexual violence against several prominent female media commentators.



Mallah listed the hat – “with magical powers to disrupt live television” – on eBay on Monday, with a starting price of $100.

Q&A host Tony Jones says Zaky Mallah should not have been allowed on show Read more

But eBay removed the listing by the end of the day, saying it violated the company’s policy against gratuitous comments. “We encourage our sellers to avoid the use of unrelated words that has nothing to do with the item for sale,” the company said in an email to Mallah.

It also found fault with Mallah’s claim that he would donate a portion of the sale proceeds to the homeless, noting he needed the written consent of a charity.

Mallah lodged a claim with the Ncat this week seeking $30,000 in damages. The hearing is listed for 19 January.

He told Guardian Australia the listing had given information relevant to the sale. “You can’t just put a famous, unique hat on eBay without explaining the history of it, the context of it, the exchange between me and Steve Ciobo,” he said.

Senior Liberal MP pulls out of Q&A appearance over Zaky Mallah affair Read more

The damages claim represented “the $15,000 I believe would have received for the hat, and the other $15,000 for the time it took to put this application through, and the headaches and stress”.

Mallah said a portion of any money he obtained from either the lawsuit or the auction would be used to invite Ciobo to lunch. “At any place in the city of his choice. We can put our differences aside, come together, and make peace,” he said.

“That’s a Christmas message right there.”



An eBay spokeswoman said the problems with listing had ben shared with Mallah so that he could “address the issues”.

“Everybody is bound by these policies on eBay so we are unable to make any exceptions for this listing regardless of where the bidding got to,” she said.



“Hopefully the seller is able to address the issues and get the hat back up pretty quickly if he would like to.”