LIBEL AND SLANDER – AUSTRALIA

More public figures expected to turn off Facebook comments after Australian defamation ruling

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Original article by Josh Taylor
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 28-Sep-21

The High Court recently ruled that the owners of Facebook pages are liable for defamatory comments made on them. The ruling prompted Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein to announce on 24 September that some posts on his Facebook page would have comments turned off, a feature that Facebook introduced in March. Defamation expert Professor David Rolph says he expects other politicians and public figures will adopt similar strategies to that of Gutwein.

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HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

‘Taxpayers should know’: Senator calls for audit of ABC payment for upskirting tweet

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Original article by Zoe Samios, Lisa Visentin
The Age – Page: Online : 20-Aug-21

Liberal MP Andrew Laming sued ABC reporter Louise Milligan for defamation over tweets she made which alleged that he had taken an "upskirting" picture of a woman. Milligan had agreed to pay Laming $79,000 in damages and cover his legal costs, but the ABC decided to pay her defamation costs, even though it had not been party to the action. Liberal Senator Eric Abetz has asked the Auditor-General to examine the appropriateness of the ABC’s actions, stating that taxpayers have a right to know why it paid Milligan’s bill.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

ABC lashed over call to fund Milligan case

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 18 : 5-Jul-21

The ABC’s policy on employees’ usage of social media is under renewed scrutiny after the public broadcaster advised that it will pay the legal costs of investigative reporter Louise Milligan in a defamation case. Federal MP Andrew Laming alleges that his personal and professional reputation were "irrevocably" damaged after Milligan posted a series of tweets regarding claims that Laming had taken a photo of a woman while she was bending over. Liberal senator Sarah Henderson has questioned the ABC’s decision to fund Milligan’s legal defence, adding that taxpayers have the right to know whether it would also pay up if damages are awarded against her.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Nine was intent on destroying war hero

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Original article by Kieran Gair
The Australian – Page: 5 : 29-Jun-21

Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith is suing Nine Entertainment over newspaper articles that appeared in 2018 that allege he committed or was complicit in murders on deployments to Afghanistan, and that he assaulted a woman in 2018. Former Liberal defence minister and Australian War Memorial director Brendan Nelson told the Federal Court on 28 June that the general public idolised Roberts-Smith, while Nelson claimed that the journalists who wrote the articles in question were "intent on bringing him down". The court also heard the case may have to be paused because of the impact of Sydney’s two-week lockdown on the availability of interstate witnesses.

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NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL

No mafia-style threats: VC hero

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Original article by Kieran Gair
The Australian – Page: 3 : 24-Jun-21

Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith is suing three newspapers over articles in 2018 that allege he committed murder while on deployments in Afghanistan, allegations which he denies. Appearing for his ninth day in the witness box on 23 June, he denied claims that he sent letters containing "mafia-style" threats to former soldiers. Roberts-Smith also denied allegations he poured petrol on his laptop and set it alight in 2018 after being informed that his behaviour in Afghanistan was the subject of an "open" investigation into alleged war crime

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Nine to pay costs in Aston ruling

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Original article by Cameron England
The Australian – Page: 3 : 9-Feb-21

The Federal Court has awarded indemnity costs to Elaine Stead in her defamation case against newspaper columnist Joe Aston. The indemnity costs will be backdated to 22 April, when Nine Entertainment Company rejected Stead’s offer to settle the case for $190,000. Stead was recently awarded ordinary and aggravated damages totalling $280,000 over several articles that were published in the ‘Australian Financial Review’. Nine could potentially face a total bill of more than $2.5m arising from the defamation case.

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NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC,FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

ABC indulged ‘activist agenda’, says V’landys

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Original article by Kieran Gair
The Australian – Page: 7 : 15-Oct-20

Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys has given evidence in his defamation lawsuit against the ABC and one of its journalists. The case centres on a story that appeared on the ‘7.30’ current affairs program in October 2019; it featured an interview with V’landys that was spliced with graphic footage of retired racehorses being killed at a Queensland abattoir. V’landys claimed that the story "pandered to an activist agenda" and alleges that the ABC failed to make it clear that he has no jurisdiction over racehorses in Queensland. V’landys is seeking aggravated damages.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, RACING NSW

Judge takes swipe at media on privacy

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Original article by Michael Pelly
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 28-Sep-20

High Court judge Patrick Keane criticised the ‘old media’ in a recent speech titled ‘Too Much Information: civilisation and the problems of privacy’. Justice Keane claimed that media owners had a degree of self-interest in their push to have existing defamation laws changed, and that when it comes to choosing between the right to privacy and the right to know, they are likely to favour the right "with the dollar signs attached". The states recently agreed to introduce reforms to defamation laws which they argue in part will better protect public interest journalism, but so far New South Wales is the only state to have passed the uniform legislation.

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HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Curb on mega-payouts to celebrities

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Original article by Chris Merritt
The Australian – Page: 2 : 24-Jul-20

A proposed national model law will be on the agenda of a Council of Attorneys-General meeting on 27 July. The national model laws includes changes to defamation laws, including replacing the existing defence of statutory qualified privilege for media companies with a new defence of public interest journalism. The model bill will also seek to address the rising cost of defamation payouts, amid a growing trend for judges to bypass existing caps on damages for causing harm to a person’s reputation.

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AUSTRALIA. COUNCIL OF ATTORNEYS-GENERAL

Google hit for defamatory search results

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Original article by Tessa Akerman
The Australian – Page: 3 : 1-May-20

The Supreme Court of Victoria has directed Google to pay lawyer George Defteros $40,000 over search results linked to his name that he alleged were defamatory. Justice Melinda Richards stated that a 2016 link to an article in ‘The Age’ did carry defamatory imputations, but she noted that Defteros had taken some years to get in touch with the newspaper and ask for the article to be removed. Richards also noted that Defteros had referred to criminal Graham Kinninburgh as "a friend", and she suggested that this "reduced the sting of the defamatory imputation" that Defteros felt.

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GOOGLE INCORPORATED, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA