Neighbours star Madeleine West wins appeal: what went on at Shannon Bennett’s Byron Baymansion

Madeleine West has won her court appeal against a domestic violence order taken out against her by the elderly father of her ex-partner, the celebrity chef Shannon Bennett.

A NSW District Court judge on Thursday set aside an AVO that Benny Clifton Bennett, 75, had previously secured against the former Neighbours star and model over a fiery clash at the chef’s Byron Bay mansion in May last year.

In his appeal judgment, Judge Jonathan Priestley said certain things about the events that occurred that day – when Mr Bennett claimed Madeline ‘barged’ or ‘pushed her way in’ to the house – were agreed upon.

At the time Mr Bennett was at his son’s waterfront home, while Shannon – famous for his guest judge appearances on MasterChef – was overseas.

‘It is common ground that at about 11.10am on May 4, 2022 the grandfather was at the father’s residence in Byron Bay,’ Judge Priestley recalled.

‘At about that time the doorbell rang and the grandfather went to answer it and could not see anybody and opened the gate when [Madeleine West] appeared.

‘[Mr Bennett’s] statement was that she came around the fence and barged in, which was a matter of dispute.

‘[Mr Bennett] said [in his statement] that he asked her what she was doing and she said she had come to [address a family matter which cannot be reported on for legal reasons].

‘The grandfather said he did not want a messy scene…’ the judge said, before continuing to read from the statement.

‘When asked to describe how [Ms West] barged through, the grandfather said she came straight through the gate.

‘He said he had said “wait at the gate” and she came straight through and that she just pushed him by pushing his arm out of the way.

‘He said he opened the gate because he thought there was somebody delivering a parcel and that the minute he opened the gate she [West] was in.

‘He said he told her she can’t come in, she said she could and she pushed him out of the way.

‘Significantly he also said that he just wanted to make sure the matter was reported because his son said he was going to take action.’

Judge Priestley’s judgment detailed what had been heard during the Apprehended Violence Order Application in Byron Bay Local Court which Magistrate Karen Stafford had confirmed in March, and which His Honour dismissed on appeal on Thursday.

West’s barrister, Andrew Fernon SC, had submitted earlier this month that Ms Stafford had made factual and judicial errors in granting the AVO, and argued that Benny Bennett was not scared of West.

Mr Fernon contended that Shannon Bennett had put his father up to making a complaint to police as part of his ‘continuous battle’ with West.

Judge Priestley said Benny Bennett had testified about text messages from West saying she would arrive at the home at 4pm, to which he replied asking her to wait.

Mr Bennett ‘expressed the view that ‘switched her on’ and ‘she became you know uncontrollable’,’ and had ‘described her as irrational.’

‘These are of course conclusions; the evidence of facts supporting them is light on, and not supported by the CCTV.’

Benny Bennett ‘said he had never really had bad words with the mother.’

CCTV from five different cameras positioned around Shannon Bennett’s compound played in court showed West pushing her way into the estate and Benny Bennett throwing up his hands as she marches into the house.

Judge Priestley said that Madeleine West had found out that Shannon Bennett was out of town earlier.

When police asked Mr Bennett if she had any fears about his former daughter-in-law, he replied ‘no I don’t ahh she’s never been ahh aggressive or anything to me’.

His Honour detailed Madeleine West’s statement to police, in which she said she had learned on May 2 last year that Shannon Bennet had gone to the US.

Public prosecutor Ms Nicola Breward briefly argued earlier this month that Benny Bennett ‘didn’t welcome [West] inside… she made the decision to access the door, enters the property without invitation.

‘He’s obviously feeling some kind of stress. He’s elderly and hearing-impaired, she’s turned up unannounced, that’s it,’ she said.

Judge Priestley ordered that a hearing as to the payment of costs would be held in July.

Shannon Bennett, who rose to fame on MasterChef Australia, revealed in May last year how the separation process between he and West had ‘turned love toxic’.

In 2020, West left Melbourne and moved to Byron Bay to be near her children, buying her own $4.6million mansion in Suffolk Park.

More recently, the actress and podcaster revealed she was a child sexual abuse victim.

Speaking publicly for the first time about her battle with anorexia, she said the trauma of being abused caused her to become obsessed with looking ‘perfect’ – a task that was both ‘punishing’ and never-ending.

‘For every sexually abused person, what has happened to them will manifest in their life in some self-destructive behaviour,’ she said earlier this year.

Last year, Shannon Bennett said West saw their children fortnightly, while they spend the remainder of the time with him.

‘The kids live with me full time and they visit their mother every fortnight for a few days,’ he revealed.