sentences:  In 1997 Coates and then NSW State Treasurer Michael Egan engaged in a dispute over an alleged conflict of interest arising from criticisms Coates had made in regard to accommodation taxes imposed by the government.Coates and Sydney radio host Alan Jones have had a long-standing feud that has occasionally ended in litigation.In April 2007 this litigation was concluded when Coates was awarded $360,000 damages when a jury found a broadcast made by Jones in December 2004 conveyed defamatory meanings.