Nine

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.

Liberal MP Christian Porter is effectively asking the court to “protect his reputation” by seeking to block Nine and NewsCorp from using secret portions of the ABC’s defence to his defamation allegations, Nine told a judge in opposing the move.

Liberal MP Christian Porter has asked a court to ensure Nine and News Corp. do not use secret portions of ABC’s defence to his defamation allegations, which the media giants accessed as intervenors in the former federal Attorney-General’s case.

A lawyer for accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith has told a judge his ex-wife did not honestly disclose whether she had given her close friend access to her former husband’s email account, and had misused his confidential and privileged information.

Trial in war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case over articles accusing him of war crimes has been adjourned until November in light of the current COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney, which a judge noted could be extended beyond the month of August.

Former Attorney-General Christian Porter has succeeded in scrubbing from the court record the ABC’s full defence in his now-settled defamation suit against the broadcaster, over the protests of media outlets, with a judge finding the principle of open justice was “not absolute”.