ABC to pay politician Andrew Laming $79,000 in defamation settlement over star reporter’s tweets

Queensland politician Andrew Laming will receive a $79,000 payout after suing star ABC reporter Louise Milligan for defamation over her tweets.

ABC journalist Louise Milligan has agreed to pay $79,000 to Queensland politician Andrew Laming as a settlement in the defamation case he brought against her in June.

The member for Bowman, who will quit politics at the next election, sued the star Four Corners reporter over a series of tweets she posted earlier this year as he battled allegations of harassment.

Among the tweets Mr Laming sued over was one he said suggested he had admitted to the crime of taking a photo of a woman’s underwear under her skirt, commonly referred to as “upskirting”.

On Wednesday the Federal Court was told Ms Milligan had agreed to judgment in Mr Laming’s favour.

The ABC will foot the bill for the $79,000 payout as well as court costs for both sides.

The settlement comes days after the national broadcaster’s managing director issued a stern warning to staff about social media use.

Louise Milligan’s legal bill is expected to covered by the ABC. Picture: Brett Costello

In March, Mr Laming was ordered to attend empathy training by the Prime Minister after apologising in parliament for causing “distress” to two female constituents who accused him of online abuse.

Around the same time, a woman complained to Queensland police that Mr Laming had taken a photograph of her bending over.

Mr Laming denied the photo was in any way “lewd” and said his goal was to show “a challenging work situation” by depicting a hardworking employee kneeling in normal work attire and “stacking a fridge with an impossible amount of soft drink cans”.

Queensland police investigated and laid no charges.

Mr Laming then sent legal letters to several people, including radio announcer and former senator Derryn Hinch and Labor senator Murray Watt, who issued public apologies for what they had said about the incident.

In March 2021, I published a tweet which inferred that Andrew Laming MP had taken an upskirt photo. I apologise for making that inference and any hurt it may have caused him. The tweet has been deleted.

— Derryn Hinch (@HumanHeadline) June 17, 2021

According to court documents, Milligan deleted her tweets about Mr Laming on June 4 but did not apologise.

She made a public statement of her own on June 17, linking to an ABC news article about the allegations against Mr Laming and describing Twitter as a “truncated and imperfect medium”.

“In a broader Twitter discussion about gender and politics a couple of months ago, I did not include Dr Laming’s denials, nor the decision by Queensland police not to proceed,” she wrote.

Mr Laming filed the lawsuit against her soon after.

In a statement on Wednesday the politician said his case served as an example of how a false allegation can spread widely on social media.

“It is regrettable that so many people including so-called investigative journalists, media personalities and political identities use social media to make unwarranted attacks of this nature,” he said.

“No one should be subjected to this type of harassment and character assassination without recourse and the defamation laws are important to achieve that end.”

Attached are some things that should be known about Dr Andrew Laming. And please, read the linked story. It is very comprehensive. https://t.co/yLaE94CAyHpic.twitter.com/WNgmXrqJyH

— Louise Milligan (@Milliganreports) June 17, 2021

The ABC said in a statement Ms Milligan’s tweets had been published in “in good faith” and contained “an honest error” that had been widely reported by numerous other politicians and journalists.

“The ABC is not aware of legal proceedings in relation to statements or reporting by others,” the statement said.

On Monday, ABC managing director David Anderson emailed staff warning they are legally responsible for what they post on personal social media accounts.

“The primary concern is when personal social media activity reflects badly on the ABC’s independence and integrity or when a poorly judged post or series of posts or ‘likes’ compromises perceptions of the impartiality of someone in an ABC role where maintaining impartiality in the public eye is crucial,” he wrote.

Mr Anderson offered staff “a simple piece of advice” to protect themselves and the broadcaster: “If you are posting, liking, or sharing something on personal social media that is work related or about a matter of public controversy — ask yourself if it’s something you would also say, write or share on an ABC platform.”

He said failure to comply with the ABC’s policies could result in disciplinary action or even getting the sack.