ABC, Nine ‘truth’ defence rejected in Chau Chak Wing case
The ABC and Nine newspapers will consider challenging the Federal Court throwing out a truth defence in a defamation case.
The ABC and Nine newspapers are considering a High Court challenge after the full bench of the Federal Court yesterday threw out their truth defence in a high-stakes defamation case launched by Chinese-Australian billionaire Chau Chak Wing.
A senior source yesterday confirmed the media companies were closely reviewing their appeal rights after losing their bid to use the truth defence against Dr Chau’s claims that an ABC Four Corners program on June 5, 2017, cast him as a spy for the Chinese Communist Party who had infiltrated the Australian government. The program, Power and Influence: the hard edge of China’s soft power, was a joint investigation with Nine newspapers The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
It reported Dr Chau, one of the country’s most generous political donors, was under suspicion by ASIO, and linked him to allegations of espionage and bribery.
The ABC, Nine newspapers and Age journalist Nick McKenzie are relying on a range of defences, including qualified privilege. But at the heart of their defence was their claim the allegations against Dr Chau were substantially true or they had good reason to believe they were true.
In August last year, judge Stephen Rares ruled their claims of a truth defence inadmissable because they did not amount to “any reasonable defence or basis for such a defence and are embarrassing”. The media organisations appealed the decision. But in a unanimous decision by the full bench of the Federal Court yesterday, the three judges dismissed the appeal and ordered the companies to pay Mr Chau’s costs.
McKenzie tweeted: “Terrible news for investigate (sic) journalism … Another terrible precedent for journalism. Makes all journalists jobs harder.” But a member of Dr Chau’s legal team told The Weekend Australian it was more like “a terrible day for Nick McKenzie”.
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