Judges

One Nation senator Pauline Hanson has been accused of lying under oath after claiming she did not know deputy Greens leader Mehreen Faruqi was Muslim when she wrote in a a tweet that the senator should “piss off back to Pakistan”. 

Brittany Higgins’ partner David Sharaz has dropped his defence in a defamation case brought by Senator Linda Reynolds over social media posts that allegedly implied the former Defence Minister pressured Higgins not to pursue a complaint against rapist Bruce Lehrmann.

Jemena Gas has lost its bid for a court to determine a preliminary question in a case by billboard company Manboom that claims the presence of underground gas infrastructure at a site in Mascot, NSW that supplies gas to 1.6 million customers amounts to trespassing.

A judge has rejected a bid to keep the settlement sum under wraps in a class action against Nine over its coverage of litigation related to the 2004 Palm Island riots, noting that a “ballpark” figure is already open to be deduced from the settlement deed. 

Pauline Hanson’s tweet that Mehreen Faruqi should “piss off back to Pakistan” was not a fair comment on a post the deputy Greens leader made after Queen Elizabeth II died that was critical of the monarchy, Faruqi argued as trial kicked off in her racial discrimination case against the One Nation leader.

Insurer Lloyd’s in not on the hook for losses arising from a cancelled 2019 music festival, with a judge finding the Black Summer bushfires did not render cancellation necessary as was required for coverage under the relevant insurance policy.

Proceedings are capable of being determined by the act of filing a discontinuance, a judge has said in approving an application for the discontinuance of a class action over Fire Rescue Victoria’s COVID-19 risk management practices. 

Sydney barrister Gina Edwards has been awarded $150,000 in damages in her defamation case over Channel Nine’s coverage of her battle for custody of famed social media pooch Oscar the cavoodle, with a judge finding she relied on a bad legal advice from a fellow barrister and genuinely believed she was Oscar’s co-owner.

AMP has lost its bid for soft class closure in a class action over allegedly excessive superannuation fees, with a judge finding the court should exercise “real caution” when class closure is opposed by the applicant. 

A judge has ruled that media monitor Isentia did not infringe the copyright of Sky News, despite the “wholesale copying” of content for its government clients, because its actions were done for the “services of the Commonwealth or State”.