‘Concerning precedent’: Walkleys withdraw top gong for Nine’s Andrew Laming MP reports
The directors of Australia’s top journalism awards have withdrawn an accolade from Nine News after Queensland MP Andrew Laming sued the broadcaster for defamation.
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The Walkley Foundation, which oversees journalism‘s most prestigious awards, has withdrawn a top gong from Nine after a report about controversial MP Andrew Laming.
The broadcaster has denounced the move as “extremely disappointing, and sets a very concerning precedent” for journalism.
Nine journalists Peter Fegan and Rebeka Powell won the 2021 Walkley for three reports known as ‘The Investigation of Andrew Laming’ which ran in March 2021 about the Queensland Liberal.
The reports centred around Dr Laming‘s treatment of his constituents and contained false allegations he took a lewd photograph of a young woman at her workplace.
Dr Laming launched a defamation lawsuit against Nine disputing one of the three reports and the case settled in September this year with an apology from Nine.
“9News has now seen material which indicates that the photograph Dr Laming took was not lewd in nature,” the apology read.
“Nine News unreservedly withdraws those allegations about Dr Laming and apologises to him and his family for the hurt and harm caused by the report.”
The Walkley Foundation, on Tuesday, announced its directors had taken legal advice and decided to withdraw the award.
However it noted the first two reports about Dr Laming raised important matters - but the issues around the third report meant they could not stand by the award.
“The Federal Court proceeding settling on confidential terms and the limited apology by Nine was not decisive by itself to justify the withdrawal of the Award, but in all the circumstances the Board resolved the award could not be maintained in respect of the third report,” a statement from the foundation reads.
“The first two reports in this series contained allegations that were very serious and raised important issues of public interest, but the award could not be maintained solely upon those allegations.”
No runner up was named by the judges for the 2021 award for Television/Video News Reporting so it will not be handed to anyone else.
Nine, in a statement, said it stood by its journalists “and the importance of the work they produced”.
“The current state of defamation law in Australia poses a significant threat to public interest journalism,“ Darren Wick, Nine’s news and current affairs director said in a statement.
“These reports were important examinations of the conduct of a politician, which contributed to a broader social discourse about what standards the community expects from its elected leaders.”
Dr Laming welcomed the withdrawal by the Walkley Foundation in a statement by his defamation lawyer, Rebekah Giles.
“The self-nominated award gave credibility to false and damaging allegations that should never have been published,” Dr Laming said in the statement.
Dr Laming said the Walkleys knew of his legal complaints but chose to award Nine anyway.
He called for the journalist‘s union, the MEAA, to withdraw the 2021 Clarion Award given to Nine for the same reports.
Dr Laming sued Nine claiming the report alleged he took an indecent photograph of a woman.
At the time he said he photographed the woman because it was funny to see her trying to fit an “impossible” amount of drinks in the fridge.
The MP enlisted the same defamation legal team as Christian Porter, barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC and lawyer Ms Giles, as he launched defamation action in the Federal Court.
His legal team claimed Nine’s allegation was false and the network falsely portrayed him as “lecherous” and “a pervert”.
Dr Laming became a controversial figure in the Morrison government after other members of his Queensland electorate complained about his behaviour online.
He apologised in parliament, on the orders of the then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and then sensationally withdrew the apology saying he didn’t even know what his apology was about.
The two reports, which were not the subject of Dr Laming‘s lawsuit, are understood to be the catalyst for the PM ordering Dr Laming to undergo empathy training.
He is no longer in parliament.
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