An unusual case of open justice in WA as the Family Court’s Chief Judge Stephen Thackray finds in favour of the public’s right to know information in a coronial inquest … Nick Stagg reports on a win for The West Australian and Channel 7 Perth … more
Year: 2016
Testing the limits of FOI
Freedom of information battle over access to the Commonwealth attorney general’s appointment diary will test the limits of Australia’s FOI laws … Do all third parties need to be consulted before disclosure? Peter Timmins reviews the most recent judgment ... more
Channel Seven Sydney Pty Ltd v Brian Fisher
NSW Court of Appeal (by majority) reduces former school bus driver’s damages from $125,000 to $75,000 … Justice John Basten would have reduced the quantum even further, given the facts Seven proved ... more
Dr Janice Duffy v Google Inc (No 2)
Google Inc ordered to pay a South Australian researcher damages of $100,000 over defamatory search results and hyperlinks implying she was a “psychic stalker” … Plaintiff fails on special and aggravated damages case … more
The Investigatory Powers Bill: A serious weakening of protections for journalism
The British government’s draft Investigatory Powers Bill leaves much to be desired when it comes to the protection of journalists and their sources, according to The Guardian’s director of editorial legal services, Gill Phillips ... She analyses the Bill’s shortcomings in this Inforrm article ... more