Michael Lee, one of Australia’s highest-profile judges, criticised the courts’ commitment to open justice and urged media outlets to more aggressively fight the suppression orders that have become widespread across the legal system.

As his own court comes under scrutiny for obstructing coverage of cases, the Federal Court judge said non-publication orders were only necessary in a “small range of cases” and questioned why some states issued far more of them – citing statistics showing Victoria as the worst offender.