Veteran Queensland lawyer Doug Spence adds his voice to the call to stop the adoption of NSW’s version of statutory qualified privilege in the proposed Uniform Defamation Act. That law would not have accomodated much of the reporting that lead to the Fitzgerald inquiry or the “Dr Death” commission ... more
ABC documentary on a student legal centre gives rise to actions in misleading and deceptive conduct, breach of privacy, defamation and breach of confidence – all of which fail ... more
Convicted sex offender, known as “Little Pebble”, fails to stop Today Tonight broadcasting an interview with one of his victims. A second jury trial in relation to a further alleged victim is likely to be held in December 2005 ... more
Absolute privilege applies to witness statement prepared for separate defamation proceedings. The statement was distributed to lawyers, defendants and to a spouse ... more
David Levine QC reviews Deborah Lipstadt’s account of the defamation case brought against her and Penguin Books by the Holocaust denier David Irving. This is one of the great defamation trials of modern history, made all the memorable by the masterly destruction of the plaintiff ... more
The Sydney Morning Herald says its news report about a Shoalhaven bushfire was reasonable despite an interview being conducted by a photographer, not a journalist ... more
Section 7A trial. BRW Young Rich entrant gets one out of 24 imputations up against Channel Nine’s A Current Affair. Full-frontal attack in five broadcasts, but the jury thought it was not defamatory to call a Sydney property developer, “a thief, crook and a scumbag” ... more
Part Three – Second leg trial of NSW north coast newspaper stoush continues. The Byron Shire Echo accused The Saturday Star of underpaying an employee. A co-proprietor of the Star claims financial hardship ... more
Why are the states and territories persisting with dragging NSW’s useless version of statutory qualified privilege into the uniform Defamation Act? Peter Applegarth SC argues that the qualified privilege defence drafted by Sir Samuel Griffith in 1889 is a far more effective mechanism for media defendants and other participants in public affairs ... more
The latest round in the defamation law reform negoitations between the Commonwealth and the states has produced another standoff. Attorney General Ruddock says he’ll wait and see how close the states get to his position before deciding whether to legislate from Canberra. NSW Attorney General Bob Debus says he is urging his colleagues to implement their model “uniform” provisions ... more
Section 7A verdict. Serbian restaurateurs unsuccessful in their action against The Sydney Morning Herald and Matthew Evans over scathing review of Coco Roco in “Good Living”. “A dismal pyramid of sorbet.” ... more
Latest developments. Cross-claim by Fairfax and plaintiff against the State of NSW settled following discharge of the jury. The Sydney Morning Herald sought contribution because it republished defamatory information authoried by a State government firefighter ... more
