A judge has adjourned trial in the defamation case by accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith to early 2022, saying relocation was not practical after COVID-19 restrictions prevented Fairfax’s witnesses travelling to Sydney.
Former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith is fighting to shield medical records Fairfax says should be made public to “safeguard open justice”, as trial in his defamation case against the publisher faces further delay due to COVID-19 border restrictions.
A judge has spoken of his personal challenge as an “older, white male” in deciding the objective meaning of racism in Nine Network sports reporter Erin Molan’s defamation case, and said the matter would have been worthy of a trial by jury.
Nine Network, Seven Network and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation have won a temporary injunction barring the Civil Aviation Safety Authority from declaring the area above the Melbourne CBD to be a restricted area in response to anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine protests that have disrupted the city.
Nine subsidiary Fairfax Media has agreed to pay compensation to a Papua New Guinea politician who sued the publisher for defamation for allegedly engaging in a “smear campaign”, with a judge making an order of compensation despite a “ludicrous” objection from Fairfax.
Accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith has filed an application to bring a claim against the close friend of his ex-wife in a case accusing his former spouse of unlawfully accessing his email account containing privileged communications with lawyers.
Liberal MP Christian Porter has won his bid to block Nine and News Corp from using secret portions of ABC’s defence to his defamation allegations that the media giants accessed as intervenors in the former Attorney-General’s case.
Queensland Liberal MP Andrew Laming has sued Nine Network for defamation over a Nine News segment which alleged that he took a photograph of a female employee bending over at a Brisbane landscaping yard.
A judge overseeing a Papua New Guinean politician’s defamation lawsuit has criticised Nine’s refusal to take down two allegedly defamatory articles ahead of a delayed trial, saying there was no reason to keep them online except for the publisher’s “pride or ego”.
Former vice president of the Victorian Liberal Party Marcus Bastiaan has hit Nine with a defamation lawsuit over an explosive 60 Minutes report which allegedly implied the Sydney man was a political power broker with an illegal branch stacking operation.