Senior journalists and academics have pushed for a dramatic overhaul of local defamation laws, warning the rules have turned Australia into a "go to sue" destination for those unhappy about their treatment by the press.
At a Sydney Writers’ Festival panel led by former Melbourne University Press chief executive Louise Adler on Friday, two journalists and a leading academic pushed for substantial changes to Australia’s defamation rules amid a national review of the laws.University of Sydney professor of law David Rolph said one change could be different forms of compensation, such as forced apologies or retractions, rather than a payout.
"[Successfully suing] has left me in a very uncomfortable position where I can see the significant flaws of how defamation law works in Australia but I can also see that for some people it’s often the only recourse that they have," Mr Faruqi said on the panel.
to protect free speech we should cap defamation to $200k Reputation is an intangible so there is no such thing as $1mil damage Small claim for under $20k can go to a tribunal
A self serving article by the media. Weakening the laws the media, without fear of serious punishment, would run riot and ruin the lives of many innocents.
Here are the underpriviliged media barons feeling sorry for themselves.
Australia is also the best place for women to allege assault and sexism etc, it’s becoming quite the ‘earner’ for them.
He seems nice🙄
Well if the media don't want to be sued for defamation, don't fucking defame innocent pple.