Man acquitted over Tinder date’s balcony death claims sex discrimination after being banned by Star over alleged strangulation incident

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Man acquitted over Tinder date’s balcony death claims sex discrimination after being banned by Star over alleged strangulation incident

A man acquitted of the ******* of his Tinder date after she plunged to her death from his apartment balcony more than a decade ago has claimed he was against by The Star after being banned over an alleged strangulation incident.

Gable Tostee was accused of throwing New Zealand woman Warriena Wright from the balcony of his Gold Coast apartment in 2014 but was acquitted of all charges following a high-profile trial in 2016.

Tostee – who now goes by the name Eric Thomas – has now lodged a complaint to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) following an incident at the casino operator’s Grand Hotel in Broadbeach in 2022.

He asked for the ban to be lifted on an interlocutory basis until a further hearing later this year.

In the tribunal’s published judgment, Mr Thomas alleges he was discriminated against on the basis of his sex after security staff were alerted to a disturbance at a hotel room on April 28, 2022.

Staff found a woman on her back with her dress up over hips and Mr Thomas “over the top of her” fighting.

Camera IconGable Tostee has lodged a discrimination case against The Star, alleging he was discriminated against because of his sex after the casino operator banned him following an alleged strangulation incident. 60 Minutes/Channel 9 Credit: Channel 9

According to the judgment, the woman alleged Mr Thomas had strangled her – resulting in him being detained by police when they arrived.

Police ultimately did not proceed with action against Mr Thomas after reviewing the evidence against him.

In May 2022, The Star issued Mr Thomas with a withdrawal of licence notice, banning him from entering their Gold Coast, Brisbane and Sydney premises.

Mr Thomas wrote back six months later asking them to rescind the ban.

While The Star’s Exclusions Review Committee (ERC) approved rescinding Mr Thomas’ withdrawal of licence, members of The Star’s Safety and Security Team discovered that Mr Thomas had previously been known as Gable Tostee and had been the previous subject of adverse media attention.

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“This included recent coverage of a court hearing in which Mr Thomas had pleaded guilty to refusing to provide a blood or breath sample after he had been found naked in his vehicle after a collision and while he appeared intoxicated,” the judgment states.

As a result, the ERC opted to continue the ban.

In an interlocutory application to the tribunal before a final hearing, Mr Thomas asked for the ban to be lifted – claiming the sole reason for the ban was because there was “no difference between the two participants other than sex, and he received completely different treatment than the other.”

He claimed the ban had caused him “tremendous … psychological and social harm” and he had never caused any detriment to The Star in the past.

But QCAT senior member Samantha Traves in April refused to rescind the ban.

In her decision, she said the evidence painted the incident that resulted in Mr Thomas’ ban as one of “domestic violence” and not gender discrimination.

“On the material before me, there is no evidence to suggest that the respondents acted the way that they did on the basis Mr Thomas was male,” Ms Traves said.

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The Star submitted it had a right to enforce common law as an occupier to exclude Mr Thomas.

Ms Traves said there were “good grounds” for the exclusion due to Mr Thomas’ “lengthy history of being under the influence of alcohol while driving”.

“Moreover, The Star would potentially be exposed to liability for any adverse incidents involving Mr Thomas and its patrons and could also suffer reputational damage through any related adverse publicity should Mr Thomas again engage in such behaviour,” she said.

“Balance of convenience is not viewed in isolation. It must be addressed in the context of the substantive legal issues in dispute.”

The matter is listed for a two-day hearing in Brisbane on November 17-18.

In 2022, Tostee pleaded guilty at Brisbane Magistrates Court to failing to provide a breath and blood sample to police after crashing his car on Nerang-Broadbeach Rd in October 2021.

The court was told he drifted onto the opposite side of the road in front of another car, striking a concrete barrier before skidding into the scrub, and had to be extracted naked from the wreckage of his car.

He was banned from driving for 12 months.

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