How much the ABC paid Christian Porter for defamation mediation costs

Christian Porter’s defamation case against the ABC cost Aunty hundreds of thousands of dollars and journalists were also forced into line for tweets.

The ABC spent $680,000 defending itself against a defamation proceeding brought by former Attorney-General Christian Porter, and paid a further $100,000 directly to Porter’s solicitor Rebekah Giles, to cover mediation and related costs.

The figures were revealed in testimony by ABC managing director David Anderson before a Senate estimates committee on Monday.

Solicitor Rebekah Giles and Christian Porter outside the Supreme Court in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Adam Yip

“We have agreed to pay those mediated and related costs to Mr Porter’s lawyers, as a sum of money, characterised as mediation and related costs,” he confirmed.

“The ABC will pay to company Giles, that amount of $100,000 in respect of mediation and related costs.”

Mr Andersen also admitted that he had to have the tweets of ABC Four Corners producer Sally Neighbour corrected to acknowledge the payment of legal costs.

Senator James Paterson then quizzed Mr Anderson about a tweet from the satirical website The Shovel.

“It is an amusing, humorous website with often quite acerbic content and an associated Twitter account. It sent a tweet on the first of June in relation to these matters,” he said.

“I quote, imagine being the chief law officer and effing up your own defamation case, it would be like being the health minister and effing up a major vaccine rollout.

“Among the many likes for that tweet was Ms Neighbour. Is it appropriate for the executive producer of Four Corners to like a tweet reflecting on the chief law officer and the health minister in that way?”

Mr Anderson said he would “have to have a look at that” and added it goes to the issue of any of his staff putting any weight behind what could be a breach of the code of conduct.

Senator Paterson added that Ms Neighbour was the executive producer of a Four Corners episode about Mr Porter and another story focused on the government’s vaccine rollout.

Four Corners producer Sally Neighbour at the ABC studios in Sydney.

After the initial announcement that the matter would not proceed, Ms Neighbour tweeted, “One inaccuracy I must correct. Christian Porter today accused me of lying. This is false. No money was paid to Mr Porter. There was no apology. The story remains online.”

The estimates committee also heard that Mr Porter changed his offer to discuss a settlement with the ABC after he saw the public broadcaster’s defence, but Mr Anderson declined to provide details of the defence to the committee.

Earlier the ABC had to issue an apology to the court for another tweet by Ms Neighbour which jumped the gun before the matter was officially settled, saying, “We regret that a statement about the settlement in this matter has been issued by the ABC before Her Honour had an opportunity to consider and make the consent orders.”

More to come.