Lachlan Murdoch’s defamation proceedings against Crikey promised to be a test case on the new public interest defence. Following Murdoch’s discontinuation of his claim in April, the scope and application of the public interest defence to defamation await another appropriate vehicle. Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Category: Australia (Page 1 of 26)
At the heart of the spectacular defamation trial brought by decorated Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith were two key questions. Had the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times damaged his reputation when they published in 2018 a series of explosive stories accusing him of murder and other crimes while in Afghanistan? And could the newspapers successfully defend their reporting as true? Continue reading
Former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann has been given the all-clear to continue with defamation proceedings against several media outlets and journalists regarding reporting about Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations. Continue reading
Late last week, Lachlan Murdoch dropped his defamation claim against key figures behind online publication Crikey. Murdoch had a strong case. So why would he choose to drop it? Continue reading
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has released a report with 30 proposals for updating Australia’s privacy regime. The proposals are practical, necessary and overdue. However, they are just proposals, which have been made several times in the past before disappearing into the “too hard basket” of the Australian, state and territory governments. Continue reading
What do farm animals have to do with the Australian Constitution? Should the public know what happens in abattoirs and farms? Do we have the right to publish footage of what happens to animals in slaughterhouses? Should governments be able to make laws criminalising it? How do we best protect the privacy of farmers and prevent trespass? Continue reading
When it comes to online safety—or its flip side, online harms—many countries are grappling with the problem. What is the role of government in establishing guidelines and regulations for the protection of citizens, particularly vulnerable segments of the population, from a range of harms perpetrated by anti-social and even criminal elements via the internet? What is the role of “internet intermediaries”, the internet distribution and social media platforms that the perpetrators use to attack their victims? Continue reading
Inforrm reported on a large number of defamation cases from around the world in 2021. Following my widely read posts on 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 defamation cases, this is my personal selection of the most legally and factually interesting cases from England, Australia and Canada from the past year. Continue reading
The deeply partisan report of the Senate Inquiry into Media Diversity, tabled on 9 December 2021, is a disappointment. The main report by the Greens and Labor endorsed the campaign by former prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull for a royal commission into media diversity and ownership, which they want to examine the influence of News Corporation and its owner, Rupert Murdoch. Continue reading
On September 8, 2021, the High Court delivered the landmark Voller decision, dismissing appeals by media outlets against the decision of the New South Wales Supreme Court which held that the news media and users of social media and other internet platforms may be held liable for content posted by others to their pages. Continue reading
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