ABC

Noting that the legal costs of a dispute over whether she could represent federal minister Christian Porter in his defamation case were “substantial”, Sue Chrysanthou SC has asked to see invoices before she agrees to a lump sum bill of $550,000.

Media companies seeking access to the ABC’s unredacted defence in a now-settled defamation case brought by Christian Porter told a judge the principle of open justice required that the pleading be made public, while the former attorney-general argued there was no “superior” public interest in airing the document.

Liberal party politician Andrew Laming has hit ABC Four Corners journalist Louise Milligan with a defamation lawsuit over allegedly “sensational, accusatory and spiteful” tweets intended to “irrevocably damage” his reputation.

A judge has criticised the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for “ill advised” redactions in documents produced in a dispute between the producers of the consumer affairs television series The Checkout.

Christian Porter and silk Sue Chrysanthou have been ordered to foot the legal bill of a friend of the woman who accused Porter of rape, after she succeeded in having the barrister removed from  defamation proceedings the former attorney-general brought against the ABC.

Jo Dyer, a friend of the woman who accused Christian Porter of rape, has threatened to sue the former attorney-general for defamation over public statements he made during his now discontinued defamation battle against the ABC.

Federal government minister Christian Porter has discontinued his defamation action against the ABC and Louise Milligan, just days after a court ruled that silk Sue Chrysanthou could not represent him.

A judge has issued an injunction restraining barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC from acting for Christian Porter in his defamation case against the ABC.

A junior barrister expressed concerns to Sue Chrysanthou SC about her acting for Christian Porter in his defamation proceedings against the ABC, saying friends of the women who accused him of rape were “behaving like a cult” and that there could be fallout in the media, a court has heard.

Former attorney-general Christian Porter has dodged a question about whether his defamation lawsuit against the ABC and reporter Louise Milligan is being funded by third parties, saying he went into the litigation knowing the case would be a “massive drain” on his finances.